


Memory of the Progression

by DracoRim98



Series: A Cosmere Interloper [1]
Category: Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson, Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson, Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson, Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Book 04: Rhythm of War Spoilers, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Morally Ambiguous Character, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 52,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27558094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DracoRim98/pseuds/DracoRim98
Summary: Nazan. Feruchemist. Mistborn. Reincarnated Brandon Sanderson fan. He travels to Roshar in an attempt to save it and to... you know... become all powerful.
Relationships: Jasnah Kholin/Original Character, Original Male Character & Original Spren Character, Shallan Davar/Adolin Kholin
Series: A Cosmere Interloper [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087889
Kudos: 17





	1. Shadesmar

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work that I'm publishing so any advice would be useful for my work.

**Nazan sat eating the slop in a hut, his mother and father walking and dealing with household jobs. They were dark-skinned Terrismen as was Nazan who was young only eleven years old. He felt the ground shake a little, and the ground shook again and again. Nazan’s parents looked around confused while Nazan felt at two of his several rings, one ring made of tin and another made of zinc.**

**He anxiously tapped a slight amount of hearing from the tin and the sounds came into focus, he could hear… screams, the sound of cracking wood and heavy footsteps. Nazan realised that one set of footsteps was almost at the front door and he shouted towards his father who’s hand was touching the handle. The door snapped and crashed into his father knocking him across the room.**

**Nazan’s blood ran cold and his jewelry felt heavy on his body. His mother screamed at him to run as a large blue-skinned monster crashed through the doorway, picking up Nazan’s mother before she could move. Nazan’s father got up shakily and tackled the monster, surprising it. His mother dropped as the beast pulled its sword and swung it towards Nazan’s father thankfully he was out of the creature’s reach.**

**Nazan was frozen to the spot as he saw the beast grabbed at his father with his free hand successfully catching him.**

**“NAZAN, RUN NOW!” His father shouted as the beast pulled him close,**

**The beast crunched Nazan’s father’s head in his jaws, the horror of this moment broke Nazan from his frozen state. Nazan tapped steel and iron, turning and sprinted through the backdoor which shattered to Nazan’s much heavier body and great speed. Nazan glanced backwards seeing his mother getting grabbed. Nazan screamed as the beast started digging his fingers into his mother’s head.**

He jumped off his bedroll, flaring pewter and tapping zinc, steel and iron, sweat pouring from his skin as he looked erratically around him in a world with a strange small sun and a strange mist coming from solid, dark, smokey stone forming the ground. He quickly relaxed, dropping back to the ground and stopping his tapping and flaring of metals.

_I never told them the truth, I didn’t warn them, I thought we would have had more time and… I enjoyed being Nazan and anyway, how could I have explained it to them that I was from a different world. That I lived a different life during which I lived till I was older than them.”_

Nazan rolled up his bedroll, tying it to his backpack, he attached two bendalloyminds, a cadmiummind and a chromiummind. Nazan started walking in a north-western direction, well technically it wasn’t really north-western but it was easiest to describe it that way. It took several days of tapping bronze and bendalloy when he needed to as he stepped into a new world of spheres, the ground was obsidian but he knew that he needed a way to travel across the sea of spheres. He also knew he had to stay perfectly neutral emotionally or it would attract spren.

_Shadesmar, the Rosharon subastral is an incredibly dangerous place filled with monsters of various shapes and sizes._

_I will store Identity, not completely, I will store just enough to keep me calm and I will tap electrum to keep me determined in my path._

Nazan when he reached the sea placed a coin on the ground and used it to push forward before having to swim.

After a week of swimming he touched one of the spheres which presented the idea of a crate, he Breathed and the spheres formed into a crate which he sat onto. Nazan sat and stored wakefulness for three days straight until he sensed something nearby even in his sleep, he stopped storing and woke up looking towards what he sensed. He saw a human like figure that looked as if it was made of shadow and covered in oil, it looked vaguely feminine.  
She simply looked towards him for several minutes sitting in a small canoe like boat, Nazan stared back, tapping several metalminds only slightly. She eventually moved the canoe beside the crate and offered her hand to him. Nazan took the hand and got into the canoe with a nod of thanks.

She spoke in a cautious voice lacking a clear accent, “Hello, where are you going, Scadrian?”

“I am returning to Roshar, I have been planning to come back for a while but I kept on getting distracted. What about you, Inkspren, where are you going?”

The Inkspren’s expression closed off and tapped the triangular shaped head of the long sinuous winged beast at the front of the boat, two more of the beasts were at the back of it. The beasts’ wings started flapping and the boat started sailing through the beads towards Cultivation’s perpendicularity.

Hours of silence passed until the Inkspren spoke hesitantly, “My name is Akilah and I am going the same way. I wanted to have a better idea of who to bond with, before entering the physical realm.”

“Good plan Akilah, my name is Nazan, well that is who I really am now. The old me is dead and has been for a very long time.” Nazan said,

Akilah seemed to accept that Nazan had an old life that he didn’t want to remember. Akilah looked like she wanted to ask a question but was too nervous to actually ask. Over the next hour she kept glancing towards him as if she was actually going to ask the question before returning her gaze back towards the perpendicularity. 

Eventually she actually bothered to ask the question, “WouldyouacceptabondwithmeNazan?”

Sadly she asked the question so quickly that Nazan couldn’t understand what Akilah said.

“Pardon? Can you repeat the question?”

She looked a little embarrassed which was weird for Nazan to see given his prior experiences with Inkspren.

“Nazan, would you accept a bond with me? A Nahel Bond.” Akilah repeated the question, uncomfortable. 

_Interesting, I had thought that I was going to have to revive a Dead Blade but this is much better._

"Akilah I accept. **Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.** " Nazan's swearing of the 1st Ideal seemed to twist powerfully in the air as the slight burn of bronze in his stomach let him feel the pulse as Connection reached from Akilah's spirit to his own spirit web. 

She smiled and laughed before freezing and became stoic and refocused as if she wasn't meant to be so happy.

_She's strange for an Inkspren, she is so emotional for an Inkspren, very few are even a quarter as human in their emotional range._

Akilah focused on steering the boat while both of them were thinking very deeply. Nazan started storing all of his attributes but wakefulness for the next 8 hours then he started storing wakefulness for the rest of the journey until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He woke up immediately with a glance at Akilah's hand on his shoulder. 

Akilah looked focused while he said "Nazan, we are at the perpendicularity, we need to get ready to transfer into the Physical Realm, I am not sure what exactly would happen will happen to me given how we bonded in Shadesmar instead of within the Physical Realm like normal.”

Nazan shook his head to wake up properly and then said, “If anything goes wrong after going through, I will return to Shadesmar immediately and we’ll figure out a new plan.”

Akilah nodded as Nazan stood at the edge of the boat as it passed by the glowing pool. 

“Wish me luck, Akilah.”  
“Nazan, good fortune for your journey.”  
Nazan smiled at Akilah who smiled back and Nazan jumped into the pool. He could feel the Investiture and he felt for it. He felt the Investiture and pulled at the Physical Realm kicking away from the Cognitive Realm. Nazan appeared in a lake that still glowed but much less on this side of the perpendicularity.

Nazan swam up to the surface holding his breath calmly as he could draw on the breath from his cadiummind and stored weight making him rise even faster to the surface. He burst to the surface and saw on the edge of the lake Akilah looking excited as she looked around at the Peaks.

He swam to the edge and pulled himself out of the lake tapping brass to heat himself and his clothes. The water started evaporating off his skin and clothes quickly as his body became hotter and hotter.

“This place is amazing Nazan! Why did we have to be so trapped in Shadesmar. We’re missing out on so much!” Akilah said excitedly and giggling,

Nazan laughed with her and looked around soaking in the Horneater Peaks. Time to go to Alethkar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akilah is an Arabic name meaning logical.


	2. Jasnah Kholin, Kaladin and Rhythms

Nazan stood in the ballroom watching the Alethi lighteyes dancing and talking. He saw some of the ladies painting and talking about scholarship. Nazan smirked and walked up to the women then sat on an available seat, pulled a book from his bag and started reading. Nazan started burning tin slightly, so he could hear the gossiping start among the women and slowly start spread among the entire hall.

“Is that a man... reading?” He heard one of the women whisper,

_It’s funny how easily bothered these Alethi are. I mean seriously I can bother them that easily just reading completely messes with them._

Akilah whispered so quietly that only someone burning tin could hear her, “Why are they so bothered by you reading?”  
He said quietly, “Vorinism has very strict gender roles and men aren’t meant to be scholars, artists or musicians; which is honestly ridiculous but people are weird even to me, why would anyone accept not being able to read or write?” he spoke the last part of the sentence louder so the women nearby could hear.

Akilah giggled with understanding as a hush fell across the women and he read more of the book, ‘Arts and Majesty’.

_Wonderful irony, oh I love you. I wonder if she will approach me first or will I have to approach her first._

He used his life sense to keep track of the woman he was hoping to talk to but she was only glancing at him not moving towards him talking to a scholar. Nazan stood up abruptly and put the book in his bag. He walked towards a beautiful, tall and slender woman in a fancy havah. Her vision snapped straight for him as he walked towards her purposefully.

“Hello Brightness I am Nazan, what’s your hypothesis on how Shardblades were created?”  
Princess Jasnah looked startled at him speaking to her but quickly composed herself.

“Where are you from Nazan where a man of low dahn can speak to a princess and read and write?”  
Nazan smiled, “Back home slaves could rise to become kings and queens so you might say that we don’t care as much about the class divide as here. We don’t have such strict gender roles as you Vorin have.”   
Jasnah asked, “Where are you from?”   
“I’m not from any place you have heard of but if you would like I can tell you about it.”   
_Leave the bait, she’ll be curious, she isn’t the sort to like not knowing something. Like me._

She hesitated and then nodded so I started speaking, “Back home, every night mist spreads across the entire world only kept out by the heat of a building. Monsters used to hide within the mist but now the monsters are dead or tamed or under the authority of Harmony the new god born from the Hero of the Ages. The government is split between the nobility and the chosen representatives of the people.”

“Who is Harmony? How are they a new god?” Jasnah asked curiously,

“Harmony is only about 300 years old. To explain it we have to go back in history another thousand years. A horrific entity known as the Deepness was killing people across the land so a man believed to be what is known as the Hero of the Ages searched for a way to stop the Deepness, he found the Well of Ascension a pool that held the power of a god and took it. He used it to rewrite the world and he became a being of extraordinary power. He spent the next thousand years enslaving the majority of people across the land and being worshipped as a god. Eventually a hero born in the slums led a rebellion and overthrew him and she killed him with her bare hands. The world started falling apart in the years afterward, the Deepness returned which we discovered was a change in the mist and our hero -her name was Vin by the way- decided to find the Well of Ascension to fix the world. She found it and was told that the only way to fix it was to give up the power after taking it. Sadly, it was a lie invented by Ruin the god of destruction or I guess maybe force of destruction could be closer but Ruin was intelligent. Anyway a lie to free him from the cage created by Preservation the god of stability and peace to stop him from destroying mankind. Preservation got murdered by Ruin, but power can’t be destroyed so Vin took up the mantle and sacrificed herself to slay Ruin while her mind hadn’t been changed by the nature of the power. Both of their mantles were left so Sazed the advisor of Vin and her other allies took up both of the mantles and became Harmony the perfect natural balance of the powers of Ruin and Preservation. That is how Harmony is a new god while the other two are dead and old gods.”  
“How much of this is corroborated with primary sources?”   
“The events 300 years back are completely covered by the survivors many of them who witnessed it but the events a thousand years before we only have knowledge derived from what the heroes discovered back then.”

“How was the first hero killed by Vin?”  
“He was known as the Lord Ruler and Vin did it through her wits and Allomancy, the magic of Preservation. I wish that I could meet her even if people remember her as being more special than she was. I know a lot about history, she was a hero but she was normal, that was what made her a hero.”

“What is Allomancy capable of?” Jasnah asked,

“Much, but that is only for my people to know about for the time being at least.”  
They continued talking about many topics over the rest of the event as the feasting and dancing began to wind down. Jasnah kept trying to pull information about Allomancy through clever questioning but feruchemical zinc let him think fast enough to avoid the tricks. Akilah yawned in his pocket which made him realise the time.

“Princess, I believe that it is time for me to leave, I must move on for the time being, I am exploring your land for my studies, goodbye.”  
She said goodbye and he walked away burning pewter as he quickly drank a vial of metals restocking his stomach. He stored a slight amount of each trait in the metal which he started burning, compounding each trait, storing them into his main metalminds.

He left Kholinar that night tapping a little warmth and compounding all of his senses including his life sense. Akilah jumped onto his shoulder growing to a foot tall sitting comfortably.

“I liked her, Nazan. She's clever. Where are we going next?”

Nazan tapped feruchemical zinc to think through the next destination. 

_Perhaps, I should meet Kaladin, that would be good for establishing a healthy relationship with the Windrunners._

“ **I will seek the wisdom to reach my potential**.” He whispered in thought and suddenly he felt a rush of Stormlight which gave him a rush.

“Really, I accidentally said the second Ideal?” Nazan said normally,

“What did you expect, you said something that fit the second Ideal and you meant it. I’m not an Honorspren remember.” Akilah said smirking,

He rolled his eyes and Akilah shrunk down again and sat in Nazan’s shirt pocket. Nazan felt a dozen humans nearby off the road and he put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Give us your spheres lighteye and we won’t kill you.” Said a man holding an axe who walked onto the middle of the road,

Nazan saw the men circle him and he snorted. Nazan started burning pewter and tapping iron and gold.

“I think I will just kill you and take your spheres.” Nazan threatened burning zinc and rioting their anger,

The bandits rushed at Nazan with weapons ready to strike, Nazan tapped steel and dodged in close to the first one and ripped the axe out of his hands. He slammed the axe head into the bandit’s stomach then flared steel as the other men got close and pushed on all of the bandit’s metal using his huge density from tapping iron. 

All of the bandits got pushed into the trees several with a crunch and he then burned iron to pull the bandits by the metal on them back towards him. He stabbed each of the heavily unbalanced bandits with the speed given by steel.

“Pathetic, they should have thought that through better.” Nazan said with disgust,

He cut up the bandits and breathed in Stormlight, he saw into Shadesmar for a moment and soulcast each of the pieces into different allomantic metals. He then buried the majority of the metal off the road and put the memory of the location into his coppermind.

After a couple weeks of burning pewter, tapping bronze and walking he reached Hearthstone in the Sadeas princedom.

_I have a year before Gavilar’s death so I must use this time properly_

He saw the children playing together. He found Lirin’s surgery/house and went inside. He saw a balding, short man preparing medicine, the man looked up at Nazan.

“Hello, who are you?” The man asked before glancing at Nazan’s eyes and his sheathed sword, “Brightlord.”  
“I am not a lord, I’m Nazan, just a traveller; I am here to give a donation to the surgeon of this town.” Nazan threw a bag of spheres holding a handful of emerald broams and a couple handfuls of other spheres at Lirin,

“Thank you, Nazan. Are you sure you want to give us so many spheres?”  
“Yes surgeon I am sure, how do I get to the city lord's manor?”

Lirin quickly explained which way to go and Nazan walked out humming to the Rhythm of Joy which he heard in the pulses of allomantic bronze. Nazan walked to the citylord’s manor and a couple of guards stopped him in his path.

“I’m here to talk to the citylord about a trade. May I enter please good sirs?” Nazan asked,

The guard asked, “Who are you brightlord?”

“I am Nazan, just a humble traveller, I wish to purchase a parshman."  
One of the guards walked inside the manor to check with Brightlord Wistiow if Nazan was allowed to meet with him and the other took him to the waiting room. Quickly the older looking man came through with the guard.

“Hello? Who are you sir?”  
“I am Nazan, I wish to buy a parshman off you, Brightlord. I require one for my work soon so it would be nice to get one now before I need it.”   
Nazan burned zinc and rioted Wistiow’s feeling of generosity then soothed his mistrust. Wistiow seemed to relax and nodded,

“For one of my parshmen, 5 emerald broams.”  
Nazan nodded with acceptance and brought out a bag of spheres as they walked out of the manor. They found the parshmen working. 

Wistiow asked, “Which one would you like, Nazan?”

Nazan looked over them and saw a parshwoman who looked a little small,

_She’s probably sickly from the look of her, unsealed goldmind could help her after I give her some breaths._

Nazan pointed at her and said, "I'll have her please." 

"Really? Her?" Wistiow said confused, 

"Of course, she'll be a perfect fit for my work. Here are the spheres, can you mark in your ledger about the sale for me?" 

"Yes of course. I will bring you her ledger." 

Nazan nodded in thanks before turning back to the parshwoman. 

_I am so sorry for what was done to you and your kind but I will help you. I won't cry over spilt milk, I will help you and move the world in a better direction._

"What is your name?" Nazan asked her, 

She looked confused for a moment before the guard behind Nazan said, "Her name is Ilan, only the eldest of parsh ever seem to properly remember their names." 

Nazan nodded in thanks to the guard. 

Wistiow came back with a small ledger which he passed to Nazan. 

"Thank you, Brightlord. I must leave you now. Goodbye" 

Wistiow said to Ilan, "Go with him now Ilan, he will look after you now." 

Ilan shuffled after Nazan as they left the manor house and a young boy ran right into Nazan, he was tan skinned with wavy black hair. 

He looked apologetic but Nazan just laughed and crouched down a little to match the tall boy's height. 

"Hello, what's your name, kid?" He asked, 

"I'm Kaladin, I'm Lirin the surgeon's son. Who are you?" he asked suspiciously, 

"Just a traveller my name is Nazan. Here is a gift." Nazan handed an chromium ring to him, "It's a good luck charm, it'll protect you from harm." 

Nazan walked away leaving the boy who was to become Kaladin Stormblessed behind. 

A couple of hours away from the town, Nazan and Ilan stopped on a small hill. 

Nazan pulled from his bag a box made of aluminium and duralumin with a wire connecting to a spike of duralumin wrapped in aluminium. He pulled the wire with a spike till it stretched to his ear and he pushed the spike through it, gritting his teeth. He pressed a button on the box and it glowed white. He waited several minutes before hearing in his mind a voice, "Hello Nazan." 

The Voice was of a young woman who's accent was one of the accents from Arelon. In Nazan's mind he pictured her a short woman with white hair and metallic silver skin with an inner glow coming from beneath her skin. 

"Hello Saoene, it's been a while hasn't it, my old friend?" 

"Yes Nazan, update me on how things are going." she said seriously, 

"Always so serious aren't you Sao? Okay, I have bonded with an Inkspren called Akilah and spoken the second Ideal. I have acquired a singer for the next work." 

Saoene said, "Good, time for me to come then, I will need to set myself up in Alethkar. I will see you soon, and don't use this again until I see you because it is too risky." 

"How has your research gone?" 

"Perfectly, Nazan, I have created a few Aonic metalminds, my AonDor is now much simpler to use off of Sel." 

Nazan sent a burst of pride to her through the Connection. 

"Goodbye my friend, I will meet you in Kholinar." 

He pressed the button on the box and the glow on the box stopped then he pulled the spike out of his ear and reattached it back to the holder. 

Nazan put the box back in his bag and pulled out a few nicrosilminds. Nazan stood back up and walked over to Ilan and put the majority of his Breaths into a cloth. 

Nazan then Commanded, "My life to yours, my Breath become yours." and the twenty Breaths slid into Ilan. 

Ilan fell to the ground trembling, Nazan dropped to the ground and put a nicrosilmind into Ilan's hand. 

"Ilan take the power from the metal in your hand and you will have a spren." 

Ilan's hands clenched tightly and her body stopped trembling, her body started twisting, becoming taller and thinner, her hair growing longer. Ilan curled up breathing heavily. 

Nazan pulled a blanket out of his bag and covered herself with it before Soulcasting a wall around them before lying down next to her and wrapping his arms around her. 

Ilan fell asleep and Nazan started storing wakefulness in his bronzemind. Nazan fell into unconsciousness his mind readied for when Ilan awoke. He woke up the next morning before Ilan and he started burning bronze so he heard the rhythm coming from Ilan. The rhythm of peace pulsing from her sleeping body. Nazan soulcast the wall around them into mist. 

Ilan woke up silently and did not speak as they started walking towards Kholinar. She looked around with far too much intelligence for her to still be affected by the damage of slaveform. He had provided her new clothes to match her new form. 

She asked quietly, "How?" 


	3. Assassin, Void and Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rhythm of war spoilers from this point on. I'm serious major spoilers ahead. I've changed part of the plan because of Rhythm of War.

**-Jasnah-**

Jasnah Kholin saw him walk into the People’s Hall with a parshwoman walk beside him.  _ Why would he go there and why does he have a parshwoman with him, doesn’t seem to fit what he said last time. He was the most interesting person I have spoken to in a long time, I’ll go speak to him. _

She walked into the People’s Hall quickly but with a regal posture. She saw Nazan hugging a short woman in a maid’s clothing with very pale skin and white hair lifting her slightly off the ground, before he put her down and kissed her on her forehead. Both of them were smiling at each other though the short woman looked a little awkward.

Nazan stiffened when Jasnah properly walked into the Hall even though he wasn’t looking in her direction. He turned on the spot to face her, the younger woman stepped away from Nazan.

“Hello Brightness, I was just surprised to see my little sister pretending to be a maid.”  _ His sister? Really they don’t even look like they are of the same people. _   
The young woman elbowed him rolling her eyes, she spoke in an accent she had never heard of, “You already understand the joke, Naz. Anyway Brightness, I am Saoene, me and my older brother here aren’t siblings in blood but by choice.”

_ So, during their travels they became close friends and call each other siblings, interesting _

Jasnah noticed that Saoene’s eyes seemed to shift in colour from a light blue to dark green to yellow to red. Nazan snorted, “Yeah sister, of course I get the joke but seriously you put in this much effort for a joke.”   
Jasnah decided to interrupt before Saoene had the chance to retort, “Nazan since when have you had a parshservant?”   
Nazan smiled as if he was waiting for someone to ask but the parshwoman looked up with _ intelligence? Could that be a Parshendi, or a relative with a similar intelligence? Curious. _

The parshwoman looked back down clearly pretending that it was an absent minded action but Jasnah knew that wasn’t true.

“This is Ilan, she’s my new friend, I want her to meet her cousins. I want to see if an interaction with Parshendi will help her mind.” He said with that scholarly tone he spoke back in their first conversation, but  _ lie, she is already intelligent, but he still has that hint in his voice so there probably will be a scholarly reason, he’s just hiding it. _

Saoene spoke quietly to Nazan, “Brother, we need to speak in private, talk about what’s happened since we last spoke. I have discovered a few new tricks to show you.”

_ What sort of tricks, perhaps new fabrial designs. Yes that makes sense but what connection does that have with an intelligent parsh. _

Nazan nodded slightly, “Brightness, we can speak later at the feast but I do need to speak to my sister in private.”

The two walked away confidently as if they weren’t just walking away from a princess without asking to be excused. 

_ Those two are fascinating, I will need to keep an eye on them but I have other business to attend to. _

**-Nazan-**

He walked with his sister by his side and they both jumped as their muscles bulged for a moment until they were in the air. They were on top of a roof and they hugged again closely before sitting.

Saoene spoke quietly at a volume only a Tineye could hear, “I have created a device capable of powering AonDor through the stored Investiture inside the metal. The Aons so far are quite limited but that is simply a flaw of the Feruchemy required to power it. I am working on creating artificial Allomancy for the device which would be better for the power supply, though if you created a method for transporting Stormlight better, I could create the most powerful forms of AonDor casually. What about you?”

“It worked, Ilan is free of slaveform and the rings work instantly for changing between forms. The zincminds let her to think properly while in Dullform. I think that I’m going to be ready for the Third Ideal soon but tonight will be the critical moment, I will be trusted for my attempt to save him and I will gain access to Voidlight for our tests. Urithiru is our goal now."

Saoene nodded and smiled in satisfaction, she hugged him close to her. He heard a beating of the Rhythm of Irritation coming from below, from Ilan.

_ Oops, should have warned her about this. _

“It is nice to see you again, Naz but how much have you tested your new abilities?” asked Saoene 

“I am competent in Soulcasting now though my range is still limited to a few feet in front of me. Though we should return to the ground as we abandoned Ilan on the ground.”   
Saoene nodded in agreement and they both dropped to the ground storing weight in our metalminds making the drop slow and easy. Ilan looked at him irritated but looked downwards again to seem subservient.

“Sorry Ilan, Saoene and I needed to talk privately but now it’s time to enter the game again.”   
The Parshendi arrived while Nazan was drinking at one of the lower tables looking into the Cognitive Realm briefly. Ilan sat next to him eating simple food pretending to be a mere servant.

_ These Alethi see me as merely strange a man who reads so of course he would have a dim witted slave eating from his own table. Anyway, soon I must be ready for a fight, remember the reality of the Physical Realm and Shadesmar itself will bend to my mind. With that knowledge I can make the world mine. _

According to his internal clock -which had developed only stronger over the last couple of centuries- there was only 20 minutes left before Gavilar died. He glanced over to Saoene and nodded slightly. Nazan got up with Ilan and walked over to Saoene who handed him a small nicrosil device with the Aon Ire etched into lightly glowing.

Nazan slipped into the Palace’s corridors becoming weightless as he touched his ironmind ring and jumped up onto the ceiling. Nazan gripped the ceiling with his fingers and quickly moved towards Gavilar’s rooms. Nazan heard Szeth’s rampage and hid himself near the rooms, waiting.

_ I need to wait until it is the right time or I will fail. _

“ **I will commit only to actions after weighing all of the facts.** ” He spoke and felt a rush of Stormlight as the Third Ideal settled over him,

He waited until Szeth and Gavilar were on the balcony, he touched the Aonic device and time from Nazan’s perspective seemed to slow as the balcony collapsed. Time froze fully and Nazan sprinted over to the collapsing balcony and stored weight again. Nazan put his hand behind Gavilar’s plate as he was falling frozen and pulled a black sphere from it. 

Nazan stared at it with excitement but quickly put the sphere in his pocket then dropped down to the ground below the balcony. Time resumed and the two hit the ground, Gavilar was stabbed by a piece of wood through his side. Szeth looked at Nazan as a Shardblade appeared in Nazan’s hand.

Szeth glanced at Gavilar’s dying body and started running. Nazan ran at him and Soulcast the ground below Szeth into water but Szeth Lashed himself upwards and away. 

Nazan dispelled the Akilahblade and went beside Gavilar Kholin as he died.

Gavilar looked at him confused before his eyes focused on Nazan and said, “You are the one... that fascinates my daughter so much. Tell my brother to find the most important words that a man can say.”   
Nazan nodded sympathetically, “Goodbye King Gavilar, you foolish, foolish man, I hope you find peace in the next life, if you have one that is.”

Akilah grew taller than the length of his hand, she looked at the sphere in his pocket with discomfort, “The sphere reminds me of the stories of Voidlight, be careful.”

Nazan nodded, “Of course Akilah, I’m not planning to use it, I will experiment with it but I will not try to use it for large scale projects, Now hide in my pocket the others come.”   
Akilah jumped into his pocket shrinking to fit and Nazan made sure the sphere was hidden from sight. Nazan saw Sadeas arrive along with Elhokar and several soldiers. Nazan simply picked up the Shardblade at Gavilar’s corpse and ignored the screams. He handed it over to Elhokar silently.

He waited until Sadeas spoke, “Where is the Assassin?”   
Nazan answered, “Fled, he was faster than me, but I was too much of a threat for him to try and kill. I tried to catch him in a Soulcast trap, if I was successful I would have slashed his throat with my Shardblade but it failed as you can see.”   
The men startled and Sadeas spoke again, “You have both a Soulcaster and a Shardblade?”   
Nazan rolled his eyes before responding, “Of course look at the hole filled with water behind me, it was Soulcast under the Assassin’s feet but he moved faster than I had expected. Here is my Shardblade if you want to see it.”   
He summoned the Akilahblade, she appeared as a long blade with one edge serrated the point long and sharp and the other edge straight. Sadeas looked at it and clearly was confused that he couldn’t recognise her. Nazan bowed at Elhokar and walked away banishing the Blade. 

Jasnah had come while Nazan was speaking to Sadeas. Nazan as he passed said, “I am sorry for your loss Jasnah. I will prepare a spanreed so we can speak while I am on my journeys.”   
Jasnah just nodded shakily and Nazan continued on. He eventually found Saoene and Ilan, they walked towards an inn and rented two rooms, one room had two beds while the other had just one. Ilan was given the private room while Saoene and Nazan shared the room.

They both looked at the sphere of Anti-Light, Saoene looked greedy for it but Nazan knew not to allow that to bother him, they were too similar for that. 

_ We both want the power to live as we wish without fear.  _

Nazan placed it into a box of aluminium with Aons attached to them that would stop people from touching it. 

"Saoene, I have sworn the Third Ideal and I think I can Elsecall. I am going to have to practice with the Surge of Transportation." 

Saoene nodded, "I will work on powering AonDor with Stormlight and try to manipulate Light." 

They both then grinned in satisfaction with their victory. They spoke for a couple of hours establishing their next few moves and then took the chance to sleep. 


	4. Urithiru and Enlightenment

Nazan looked across from the top of a hill, his body glowing brightly with Stormlight, his vision dipped into Shadesmar creating an overlay between two Realms to another hilltop. Nazan grabbed mentally at the hill in front of him and he pulled himself towards it.

Nazan’s Stormlight burned away and the overlay disappeared then he was on the other hill. He smiled and laughed as he looked behind him and saw the original hill with Ilan on it.

_ Good test, the Surge of Transportation works as I expected, I’m not limited to transitioning between Realms but it is difficult given the Stormlight required. _

Nazan walked back up to Ilan and said, “I’m going to go to Panatham to borrow the Oathgate so we can get to Urithiru then I will have a point to pull on for Transportation purposes.”

Ilan today was in Workform which seemed to be her preferred form, she wasn’t the sort for violence or scholarship and Dullform she hated being in because of its similarities to Slaveform.

Ilan said, “That sounds good for our work, Nazan. What are we actually going to do in Urithiru though?”   
“Urithiru contains the collective knowledge of the Knights Radiant and contains a few important items for our future.”

Ilan nodded, accepting Nazan’s explanation.  _ She seems to see me as some sort of father figure as she hasn’t really argued on any part of my plans except for when I asked her to become Dullform. She trusts me too much, I can’t break that trust, I need to maintain some values or I will fall to darkness. _

They walked towards Panatham with Nazan Compounding till each of his metalminds were filled to their limits. They explored the city till they figured out that the city limits had completely changed over the last thousand years or so.

The Oathgate was outside of the city in some ruins.  _ Finally time to go to an ancient city filled with untold knowledge. _ He filled the lamps with Stormlight infused spheres and pushed the Akilahblade into the slot.

It unlocked and he triggered the swapping of the Control building with the one in Urithiru. Ilan and him appeared in a flash of light in Urithiru. Nazan turned and locked the Oathgate again before walking out of the building. He froze awestruck looking at the massive, glorious tower.

Nazan arranged a small base of operations near the Oathgates and started experimenting in the relative safety and privacy of Urithiru. 

A month passed quickly with Nazan experimenting with the combination of Feruchemy, Allomancy and Surgebinding until…

“I DID IT! YES!!!” Nazan shouted to the heavens holding up a sphere glowing with a strange light.

The Light had a full rainbow’s worth of colours from it with a large band of silver light. It was a very small sphere’s worth of Light,  _ but it is a start, I have created my own Light using my Innate Investiture which has a unique Intent derived from me. As disconnected from the Shards as Investiture can be. _

Ilan ran over to his ‘workshop’ in excitement, today she was in Nimbleform as she still liked to change forms often just for the experience.

“You did it?” She looked proud and excited,

Nazan jumped up and wrapped his arms around Ilan, before saying, “Yeah, I did it, this is the first step in changing everything. Now I have to make more, lots more.”

A week later, Nazan discovered something new. He had left the sphere filled with N-Light -as he had come to call it- next to several spheres that were filled with Stormlight while he was sleeping. When he got up the Stormlight in the spheres seemed contaminated with N-Light.

_ What?!? That’s impossible, or maybe I have enough of Honor’s Intent in my Light that my Light can corrupt it while the other Lights are so different by nature of their pure Intents that they can’t do the same. Well time to calculate the rate of contamination. _

About 5% of the Stormlight had been converted into N-Light over the 6 hours he had been asleep, but the rate should change over time because of the higher concentration of N-Light as it corrupts. Over the next few hours he watched it constantly checking the rate of corruption as time went on. Nazan got a barrel filled with infused spheres and then filled it with all of the N-Light spheres mixing them together.

Over the next month he created a large enough supply of N-Light that he could Elsecall across the entirety of Roshar perhaps further.  _ It’s time to expel the Unmade from my Tower, come on Re-Shephir, I will force you out or make you mine. No middle ground. _

He could feel the N-Light in the back of his mind, ready to be manipulated by him. He filled his bag with the N-Light spheres, in his pockets went Stormlight infused spheres, his combatminds readied -ironminds, steelminds, tinminds, pewterminds, zincminds, goldminds and duraliumminds- and three vials of allomantic metals on his belt.

He goes down a staircase that in another universe Bridge 4 and Shallan Davar would have gone down to fight the same Unmade that he was to face. He Soulcast the stone to ash and pushed through covering his face with a cloth unbothered by the scattered ash in the air. Oily creatures with ever shifting physiology came from a door down the corridor from him. He summoned his Akilahblade and tapped steel and pewter, then burned pewter becoming inhumanly strong and fast. He struck out at the first Midnight Essence with a jab into its mouth causing it to deflate quickly to the incredible force and power of a Knight Radiant with the powers of a Mistborn and a Full Feruchemist behind it. Time slowed before his zinc enhanced mind and he Soulcast the ash in the air into stone spikes falling upon the Midnight Essence and rushed forward cutting down the disoriented monsters then kicked through the door to Re-Shephir seeing dozens of the Midnight Essence coming from the Midnight Mother. He slashed with the Akilahblade cutting through several who collapsed for a moment and that was all he needed to slash again killing the first wave and crippling the next. He kept fighting but more kept coming, trapping him on the spot.

_ I miscalculated, I thought there were more limitations on the production of them, I should have called Saoene in to help. NO! I can win! I just have to plan better, stop holding back. Burn your steel and become Speed itself, Burn Pewter and become Strength and obliterate the beast. _

The steelminds piercing his skin burned in his blood the pewter in his stomach became filled with strength and Compounding began. The N-Light flowed from his bag to surround his Akilahblade and he charged. Time became nothing and space became a mere idea, The Midnight Essence was destroyed before a second passed and Nazan was on top of the Midnight Mother forcing the N-Light into Re-Shephir. Time returned and she screamed knocking Nazan back briefly before she fled through the backdoor. He saw her, her body seemed to be bubbling with something beneath her skin, a light coming out mostly silver. N-Light.  _ I damaged her with my Light, brilliant. _

He smiled before dropping the ground exhausted, his skin bleeding and covered in small burns.

Akilah dropped to his side and shook him slightly, “Are you alright, Nazan. Did she hurt you?”   
He shook his head, “I’m alright just a little drained from using all of those abilities at the same time. I am just going to rest here for a bit.” 

Nazan blacked out for a bit and appeared back in his workshop. Saoene looked down on him looking worried. He blacked out again and woke up to Saoene snoring beside him with Ilan on another seat watching him.

He groaned and said, “Hey, what’s going on?”   
Ilan’s rhythm shifted to the rhythm of annoyance, “You have been asleep for over a day. I used the spanreed to get Saoene here. We were very worried about you, thankfully you breathed in the Stormlight on your own.”   
Saoene suddenly woke up and sat up looking like she had been crying, she punched him in the shoulder before hugging him sobbing softly. A few minutes later Saoene got control over herself.

“You idiot what were you thinking? You attacked an Unmade on your own and overused your feruchemy. You are my only family, Naz don’t kill yourself.”   
_ I didn’t think it through, I didn’t think about them. _

He said, “Sorry Sao, I had misjudged the threat level of that Unmade, I thought that it was relatively weak for an Unmade but I was very wrong. I used max strength and speed and shredded her army and forced my N-Light down its throat. I did do real damage to it though I saw as it ran that the N-Light was still in it. Don’t worry my next idea isn’t so risky, just time consuming.”   
Saoene just hugged him again, “Well, I’m not letting you do anything without me for the next while.”

He laughed and nodded, “I need the notebook named D.R and a map of Roshar. I doubt I can move too much yet but I need to do a lot of research.”

Saoene grabbed the notebook out of his bag and the map. They started studying the notebook for several days marking positions on the map.    
_ The Death Rattles are so very vague but are useful for me to narrow down the location of an important entity such as the Unmade. _

The locations marked are Kholinar, New Natanan and The Shallow Crypts forming a triangle.

The first Death Rattle marked states ‘The corruption spreads on the dawn of storms towards the waters. A strange sun and a wrong way shadow. He comes.’

The second Death Rattle states ‘A broken land, a free people, a changed nature. They come! Oh, Almighty, the world falls!’

The third and last Death Rattle states, ‘An inferno and a black arrow, a twisted spren watching the burning city reaching out and hiding in the shadows.’

“Saoene, I think she must be in the Unclaimed Hills between Rathalas and the East coast, I doubt she is close to the Shattered Plains, not in person at least, perhaps she has a corrupted spren as a spy there. The first Death Rattle is a clear reference to Dawn’s Shadow and the third Death Rattle is about Rathalas the reference to a burning city and a black arrow is about the Blackthorn’s burning of the city.” He pointed to a small area north of the Shattered Plains, “There that’s where she is. It’s nearly the exact centre of these points. I need to plan our approach for her before charging in.”   
_ What does she want? Well, by Oathbringer she wanted to defect from Odium but she was working against him before that so… offer freedom. No, that isn’t enough she won’t defect to someone just for that’s sake at this point, she’s an Unmade, a being of great power she needs more reason. She is also known as the Taker of Secrets, I hold secrets that could make this entire cosmere tremble at the seams, I will make an oath with her. I will need proof of my capacity to protect her and hers from Odium. N-Light is evidence and key for the future. _

Nazan filled the spheres that were near empty with more N-Light over the next few days while filling his metalminds. The Stormlight spheres were prepped in the most recent Highstorm for each of the Ten Essences and several new vials of Allomantic metals.

A new week had come and gone before Saoene, Ilan and Nazan felt comfortable hunting down a deadly spren of the Shard of hatred. Nazan prepared for an Elsecall across the continent to outside Kholinar, he sucked in the Stormlight from a bowl full of filled spheres and focused on the spot south of Kholinar and pulled himself towards it with Ilan and Saoen. He felt a tug in his stomach and space folded.

“WOW! That was cool!” Saoene said to his side sounding excited,

They were in a Roshoran forest, the trees were burned from the surge of power coming from transporting them across Roshar. They smiled at each other and walked southeast towards where they circled. It took them a month and a bit before they got to the border of the area where Sja-anat should be.

While they were exploring the area the spren occasionally looked wrong. One of the windspren among the dozens in the air was red.  _ Corrupted spren, Sja-anat is definitely nearby but hasn’t taken control this far away. She must be further in this direction but I can’t be certain of her exact position. We need a small mirror to give her a chance to speak in person. _

Around his feet, long, thin tendrils whipped at his feet.  _ Corrupted Anticipationspren, it’s a little creepy but I am too excited to be scared. _

Over the next day they saw more and more corrupted spren instead of the normal spren until there were only corrupted spren. They stopped and Nazan flared bronze and felt dozens of pulses from the spren but a much larger pulse came from northeast of them. 

Nazan turned to Saoene and said, “I need you to stay here, I don’t want to crowd her and I need Ilan to show my capabilities and willingness to see past what you are to see who you are. If anything goes wrong, I will need you to rescue us.”

She nodded frowning in frustration. Nazan and Ilan walked towards the large pulsing until they reached a large cave that was surrounded with motes of glowing red dust, lifespren that had been corrupted by Sja-anet.

Nazan breathed in some Stormlight and Soulcast a nearby rock into a large mirror.

“Children of the Taker of Secrets, I would like to talk to your mother. Can you bring her this request for me?”

A corrupted windspren flowed into the cave at the question as a silent answer.

Ilan whispered to him, “I have never heard you so respectful before.”   
Nazan responded, “I am speaking to a great and powerful spren and I am asking her for something so I should be polite.”

Nazan felt the pulse surround him and a shadow of a person appeared in the mirror with white holes for eyes. She stayed silent for a time.

Sja-anet’s voice appeared in their minds, “ _ Why do you want to speak to me? _ ”   
Nazan said, “I would like to make an oath with you, Taker of Secrets.”

“ _ Who are you? _ ”   
“My secrets belong to me, if you want them we need an oath.”   
“ _ What form of oath, child of Honour? _ ”

“I will protect you from Odium and grant you my secrets. You will keep my secrets or be unmade permanently with all of your children and you will make a bond with me.”   
“ _ How would you protect me, even if you did everything you could. He is a Shard of Divinity, a god of hatred. _ ”

Nazan smiled and pulled a sphere of N-Light from his pocket and showed it to Sja-anat.

“ _ What is that? It reminds me of Stormlight but it isn’t. _ ”

“This is my Light, I created it from my own Investiture and Identity. With you by my side I will be able to tear down Odium’s power apart, protecting and freeing you and your children from him.”

She looked towards Ilan and changed her form to look like her in ancient Singer garb, “ _ That is a singer not one of the listeners but that means… _ ”

“Yes, I returned her the forms and now she’s a freewoman.”   
Ilan spoke for the first time, “He freed me even though I was the weakest from the group he chose from. He has taught me about my heritage and given me the capacity to change between forms without relying on a highstorm.”   
Sja-anet nodded, “ _ The oath will be: first you grant me all of your secrets and in return I will protect them and second I will bond with you and in return you will free and protect me and mine from Odium. Do you accept this Oath? _ ”   
Nazan nodded and swore, “I accept this Oath and your bond.”

Nazan could see Sja-anet as she truly was a woman made of dark smoke that spread out behind her with white eyes, not in a mirror but in the Physical Realm. She looked around her confused and awestruck? Nazan realised something.  _ The bond, even a small one, pulled her more into the Physical Realm more than she has been for millenia. _

He let her adjust until she looked towards him again.

“ _ Our bond isn’t a simple Nahel Bond, that is of Honour and Cultivation, I am of Odium even if I reject him. Our bond will be unique, still constructed around 5 Ideals but you will not be made into one of the ten orders of Knights Radiant but something new. _ ”

He nodded, “Life before death, strength before weakness and journey before destination.” This time the ideal didn’t resonate as much,  _ it’s because I have already sworn that ideal. _

“ _ Our Order will grant the Surges of Transformation and Cohesion. Transformation will work very differently for you, I believe that will be similar to my ability to Enlighten the spren but I cannot be certain. Cohesion will work similar to a normal surgebinder’s ability. _ ”

Nazan said, “You should send your children to Urithiru for their protection and I will transport all of us there as well. I will give you my secrets there in safety.”

She looked at the corrupted spren around them and the spren moved westward disappearing from sight. Akilah looked out of his pocket and Sja-anet looked at her with a strange look.

“I would like you to restrain yourself from Enlightening true spren, without asking me.”

Sja-anet responded, “ _ Of course, Nazan. _ ”

_ The bond must have given her a little knowledge of me. _

Nazan and Ilan returned to Saoene and prepared to Elsecall back to Urithiru. They appeared back in Urithiru, Sja-anet looked around in interest and silently started to explore.

Akilah whispered to Nazan, “I understand why we needed to acquire her but I don’t trust her. She is very dangerous and we cannot allow her to corrupt spren if we can avoid it.”   
“No, she’s made an oath, a proper one, she won’t betray me or you. I don’t know about Saoene or Ilan but we have no reason to believe she will betray any of us.”

_ What will I do now? Well, I want to have control over Urithiru properly so I need to get control over the Sibling. How? Simple Voidlight could corrupt the Sibling so N-Light should do the same along with the help of Sja-anet. _

Sja-anet after a few hours of exploration returned to what the Alethi called the Breakaway and she said, “ _ Time for you to tell me your secrets, all of them as you swore. _ ”   
He nodded and walked away from the rest of the group and they over several hours talked, Nazan revealing everything about himself. Sja-anet was sceptical but she knew that he couldn’t lie without their Oath being rendered null and void. They talked about the possibilities for the future and whether that meant he entered a story or if the cosmere influenced his universe or perhaps something else.

Eventually they finished their long conversation and decided to go to the pillar of crystal that was the centre of the Sibling’s power. They eventually reached the room holding the pillar of crystal and Nazan soulcast a blockade behind him stopping anyone from coming in.

He asked Sja-anet, “How do I use your form of the Surge of Transformation to Enlighten a spren?”

“ _ I think you need to swear a form of the second Ideal and name your new Order of Surgebinder. _ ” She seemed uncertain,

“I think I am a Choicebringer, your enlightenment brings the choice to the spren of Honour and Cultivation so  **I will give the choice to my enemies and friends to change their path** .” His body was temporarily infused with Voidlight and he touched a few anticipationspren that had appeared around him and they twisted into long, thin tendrils,

Nazan smiled as the Voidlight snuffed out. He opened his bag which glowed brightly and he breathed in the N-Light while touching the pillar and started infusing it. He tried to Enlighten using the N-Light but only the violet and silver bands of the Light flowed into the pillar. He felt something pushing back at him,

He heard a voice in his mind, “ _ WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?! STOP THIS HUMAN! _ ”   
Nazan felt already aching from the effort of pushing the Light into the pillar and snarled, “No. I. Will. Not. Sja-anet can you help.”

Sja-anet touched the pillar as well and her black smoke flowed into it. Nazan noticed that the smoke looked a little less black than before but he couldn’t think of it, as the strain from Enlightening such a massive spren and controlling his Light forced him to concentrate completely on the task ahead.

Time moved slowly, Nazan felt that he was spending days at the pillar infusing it but eventually the force fighting him seemed to crumble away. It became so easy that he didn’t even have to strain to push the Light into the pillar anymore.   
Another hour passed before a groan struck Nazan’s mind and the crystal pillar became coloured black, violet and silver without any other colours in it. He felt a bond form between Sja-anat and the Sibling, Nazan could feel a weak connection to him. 

_ I doubt that I would count as a true Bondsmith but I now rule Urithiru, the city of the Radiants. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He isn't a proper Bondsmith not like Dalinar is. His powers are limited to basic uses of the Surges of Adhesion and Tension, nothing like the opening of a perpendicularity. He can activate and control of all of the fabrials in Urithiru.


	5. Shallan Davar and Kharbranth

**-Shallan Davar-**

Shallan stood on the deck of the ship, the Wind’s Pleasure watching sailors and a strange dark-skinned man who was… reading.  _ That isn’t proper. A man shouldn’t be reading. _

The man picked up a pen and started to write into a notebook before flicking to a different page. He read the page very quickly and then wrote once more into his notebook. He kept reading and writing for several hours without looking up, drinking water or eating anything. She drew him from a Memory of him flicking to a different page.

When night began to fall he looked up in straight at her as if he already knew that she had been watching him. She blushed and looked back down at her drawing pad. She heard him walking towards her, she looked up shyly at the tall man who smiled kindly at her.

He spoke with a strange accent she had never heard before but he spoke Veden like a native, “Hello, Brightness. What’s your name?”

She froze for a moment before responding blushing, “My name’s Shallan Davar, Brightlord. Who are you?”   
He snorted, “I’m not a brightlord, Brightness I am Nazan. Why would a lady like you be alone on a ship like this?”   
She hesitated before answering, “I am going to  Dumadari to meet Jasnah Kholin to become her ward.”   
He laughed as if she said a joke before saying, “What a coincidence, I’m going to the same location to meet with Jasnah as well.”   
She startled,  _ What? He says he isn’t a brightlord but he knows a princess, how? Well, he seems to be a heretic like Jasnah Kholin so maybe that’s how they know each other. _

“How do you know Jasnah Kholin?” She asked,

He smiled, “Jasnah and I are colleagues and friends. We first met about 6 years ago and have been keeping in contact since. We are planning to partner up for the next big project we’re doing.”

Shallan quieted and Nazan walked away, scribbling again into his notebook. 

Over the next week he kept writing in that notebook and having short conversations with her. A week and a day after their first conversation, she was drawing one of the sailors when she heard the sound of banging metal. 

She looked towards his normal spot where she saw Nazan with a large glass container with a metal frame and three large sapphire gems on the top of the container glowing with Stormlight. It stood about half of his height making it only a little smaller than her. Beside him was a large block of wood that he carved with a knife into different shapes before a flash of light and the wood became metal.  _ He has a Soulcaster that is strange, how does he have one? That looks like a fabrial, wonder what type. _

He spent hours tinkering with the fabrial and even as night fell all he did was pull out a glass box filled with glowing spheres and kept working. She walked towards the fabrial and Nazan immediately looked up from his tinkering like he knew where she was.

“What type of fabrial is that Nazan?” Shallan asked quietly,

He smiled and said, “It will be a gravitation fabrial. It will manipulate the surge of gravitation though it will only affect the entities within the vessel for the moment.”   
“It will do what?” She asked confused and blushing,

He laughed and explained, “The fabrial will make it so the objects within the vessel will fall the wrong way or simply make them weightless depending on the setting of the fabrial.”

_ That’s impossible like the powers of the Knights Radiant. That is as grand a fabrial as a Soulcaster or a Shardblade. _

He continued, “This is just a prototype, the next stage will be to design something smaller and the stage after that will be to create a fabrial able to manipulate the effect of gravity on an entity outside of the vessel itself, which I will produce a copy for my client.”   
Shallan asked, “Your client?”

Nazan said, “Well, I say client but I really just mean Jasnah. We debated the possibility of me being able to recreate the power of ancient fabrials within a couple of years so I want to win the bet, I have 10 months left. I promised though to give her my completed fabrial as a gift and reminder that I won.”

He laughed and tinkered a little more with the gems, “Actually do you want to watch my first test, I think it is ready for that now.”

She nodded,  _ I will take a Memory of the test _ . Nazan touched the gems with the hand that the Soulcaster was being worn on. The three gems glowed and inside the glass vessel water started rising before the water fell to the top of the vessel. Nazan smiled before the water not 10 seconds later crashed back down to the bottom of the vessel.    
Nazan snarled and his eyes seemed to burn before his anger vanished. He sighed and looked at the gems which seemed dun.

He noted in his notebook something in a language, Shallan had never even seen before.

“What language is that, Nazan?” she asked pointing at his writing,

He smiled and said, “That is a language from my homeland with a cipher. I prefer to protect my research from being copied. In this case I was noting that the Stormlight isn’t very efficient in this form. I think I will have to use more gems or perhaps to find a perfect gemstone that could make it more efficient.”   
She went to her cabin in thought.  _ Should I steal his Soulcaster? No, he already has shown his paranoia, if I swapped them and he found out he would tear me apart. That fury I saw in his expression was disturbing and he didn’t even direct at me. _

**-Nazan-**

_ Brilliant, she already is interested in my work and definitely noticed my ‘Soulcaster’. I’m certain she won’t go after mine as I clearly know my stuff in relation to fabrials and anyway I won’t take off the fake Soulcaster while I’m on the ship. _

He kept tinkering with the prototype and taking notes. He infused one of the gems with N-Light then he breathed in Stormlight from his pouch before infusing the two other gems.

He reactivated the prototype using an N-Surge of Enlightenment to influence the spren within the three gems, 

“ _ Thank you child for your assistance, we are getting close to true influence over the Surge of Gravitation. _ ”

_ My enlightenment of the spren functions across three Lights -Stormlight, Voidlight and N-Light- strange, though I can Surgebind with all three Lights so perhaps that affects the enlightenment process. _

He watched as the water fell to the top of the vessel and it held there for a few minutes before it collapsed. The N-Light was drained along with the Stormlight, he sighed again. He spent the next near week until Shallan realised she had to chase Jasnah to a new location, he didn’t pay attention to where. 

He walked up to her while she was drawing and started asking questions. She seemed confused but as the conversation went on, she seemed to relax. She seemed to realise that she might not match Jasnah’s expectations.

“Nazan, will you tutor me? Please? I really need this wardship.” She asked pleadingly,   
He walked away back to his prototype which was working only for 20 minutes at a time. She didn’t follow behind him.

He shouted behind him, “You coming or not?”

He knew she was smiling as she hurried behind him. “I am a busy man so if you want me as a tutor you better not get in my way while I work. I will talk and you will ask plenty of questions. You will then copy down what you learn into your own notebook and when we catch up to Jasnah you will work harder than an entire team of scholars.”

She nodded and he started teaching her in primarily philosophy and secondarily history. The philosophy was taught mostly in relation to fabrials and law.

The prototype by the middle of the second month of the voyage was lasting for 14 hours and he started sketching a design for a much smaller prototype. By the time the voyage only had a month left he had built a prototype able to be held in his hand that could last for 18 hours. He began constructing a prototype that would affect objects outside of the fabrial itself.

_ I want to fly, it would make travel much simpler and I could see the whole world beneath me. This is getting close to a true Lashing Fabrial. _

When they reached Kharbranth, he had completed a prototype that was like a wristwatch that could affect whomever was wearing it but it had two major limitations; first it doesn’t last very long at a time and second doesn’t allow true manipulation of gravity, it only allows a half Lashing. 

“Shallan, I am going on ahead, I want a field test of my new fabrial. I will see you soon.”

He ran ahead tapping steel slightly and sending a half Lashing towards the Conclave. He fell towards it and the ground at the same time but he kept his body oriented to the ground making it look to the people that he was gliding very fast. When he reached terminal velocity he cut off that half Lashing and sent a quarter lashing behind himself. He began to slow quickly and he arrived at the Conclave in only a few minutes compared to the long time that Shallan would take. He arrived in the Palanaeum and after paying the admittance fee, told a master-servant to bring him to Jasnah Kholin.

The master-servant took him to her in the Palaneum proper, she had arranged an alcove which she sat in studying. 

Before the master-servant could announce him, Nazan spoke, “Hello Jasnah, it has been a while hasn’t it?”

He threw a copy of the Lashing Fabrial onto the table in front of her and she looked up in surprise.

“I win the bet, Princess.” he said with a grin,


	6. Taravangian and further conversations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are now into Way of Kings proper now,  
> Soon we will be getting to the point where I will be splitting POVs across parts of Roshar and as we get further into the story things will change more and more.   
> (By the way, Nazan's name back in our world is used, it's not my real name)

Nazan sat in Jasnah's alcove, working on his latest prototype of the Lashing Fabrial but he had reached a block. The stronger the Lashing he used the fabrial for the faster it ran out and the moment he Lashed higher than a half Lashing an exponential drain occurred. This resulted in a basic Lashing only lasting for a few seconds before he fell to the ground again. 

Jasnah and Shallan were studying, the two women had gotten quickly used to Nazan's tinkering with his fabrial over the weeks that Shallan had been a wardship. 

He pulled his spanreed out at the balcony where they were having lunch. Taravangian came and Nazan bowed his head towards him and using the spanreed started writing to Saoene who was in Kholinar waiting for certain elements to arrive in the city. 

He wrote, 'Sister, I'm at lunch with T, S and J. T is fishing for information from Jasnah and I, he isn't very good at it. Though that could be because I'm expecting it.' 

Taravangian asked, curious, “Nazan, where did you learn to read and write?”

“I learnt when I was very young, back home there aren’t any prohibitions against men from reading. Our god, that’s the easiest description for him, doesn't have a problem against us reading or writing.”   
Jasnah stiffened slightly and Taravangian asked, “What is your religion like?”

“It is quite simple, there is a single core tenet, do more good than harm. Harmony, our god doesn’t agree with direct worship. To him worship is done by doing good and discovering truth. I spend 15 minutes of every day usually in the morning meditating.”   
“Meditating?” Taravangian asked,

_ He seems to be a little cleverer than average but he is playing downwards. _

“Yes, meditating. Harmony doesn’t like worship, he sees himself as simply a powerful and knowledgeable man. I meditate on the truths I have learnt in my life and thank Harmony for the help he has provided me in the past.”   
Jasnah asked, “You believe Harmony has helped you directly?”   
Nazan smiled before answering, “Yes, he helped me on the path to leave my homeland. I mean he helped me directly, he spoke to me giving me a little bit of advice.”

Jasnah looked confused so he elaborated, “I don’t believe Harmony is a god and if you read any of his texts you would see he doesn’t believe he himself is a god either. He is simply a man with control over a part of reality.”   
Jasnah nodded seemingly more comfortable with the explanation. Nazan refocused on writing to Saoene. She wrote back, ‘ _ I am ready for the visitor, that item I took will be brilliant for swapping with the target item. Afterwards I will bring the item to the concert hall for you. Have you finished the remote of forces? _ ’

‘ _ The device is finished but requires several improvements but by the next time I see you I will give you it. _ ’

Taravangian asked him, “Who are you writing to that takes your attention more than royalty?”   
It wasn’t a rebuke but genuinely curious,  _ I forget he is a real human beyond the Diagram. _

Nazan decided to be honest, “My sister, we haven’t been able to speak in a while and we are both very busy so we try to speak any chance we get.”

Now, finally Shallan drew Taravangian and the presence of the Cryptics influenced Shallan’s drawing which she hid from sight.

While Shallan was drawing Jasnah and Nazan started talking quietly,

“Nazan we haven’t had much time to speak since you have arrived. What have you discovered since we last spoke?”   
“I agree with your theory on the Voidbringers, according to my sources the Parsh are currently broken on a cognitive and spiritual level but if someone or something with a great large of power. Well, enemies of mankind could be created in the centres of civilisation Roshar wide. Ilan is loyal but not to mankind, she hates your lot for the most part but she is loyal to me.”   
Jasnah nodded, “I understand why she would hate us if she has reason to blame us for her kind’s state. Does she?”   
“Yes, you Rosharans tore their minds from them. It wasn’t purposeful, you were trying to suppress the enemy. I am not allowed to explain more, you aren’t ready yet. Soon, I will tell you more but that time is not now.”

“Why do you hide so much from me? I trust you with so much but you don’t trust me at all.” Jasnah said with a very slight tremble in her voice that was almost invisible but the tin burning his stomach let him hear it,   
_ Rust and Ruin! I keep on forgetting these aren’t just characters but people. People I’m getting close to. _

“I’m sorry Jasnah, I do trust you but I am maintaining a very careful balance. I trust you with far more than I should. I shouldn’t have even told you what I have. I have given you enough information about me that you could figure out where I’m from. I have to hide some things from you but soon I will tell you… everything… about me and the world though before then you will have to promise not to tell anyone what I tell you.”

Jasnah’s hands relaxed from being clenched which he hadn’t noticed originally.

_ Shit, I really upset her with my secrets. Perhaps, I need to tell her more quickly. _

She said, “I know you are not from this world, you came here through Shadesmar and you are now a Surgebinder. Am I correct Nazan?”   
“Yes, same Order as you Jasnah.”

She continued relaxing slightly more, “I think you are older than you look, much older perhaps centuries old maybe older.”

Nazan said, “I am centuries old but not millenia. Though I often don’t feel like it. Time has flown for me but sometimes I feel every single year.”

Her body fully relaxed, he proved that he trusted her.  _ Good, I want her to trust me. Why? Is it just because she is useful and important? No, stop lying to yourself Andrew, you know why you want her to trust you. _

She was comfortable with him again, she knew he wasn’t lying to her. He was bad at lying, worse at lying to his friends, easier just to avoid the conversations he didn’t want to deal with.

That night, he lay on his bed not sleeping, he didn’t need to. He had plenty of bronze to Compound wakefulness from. Stormlight was everywhere in Kharbranth, Soulcasting was cheap. Metal was common for once, all of them… well except for the Godmetals but that was acceptable. He would test other Godmetals for their Allomantic and Feruchemical abilities but later not now.

_ I shouldn’t be allowing this… closeness with Jasnah. I shouldn’t get attached to these people as I might have to burn them to step higher. NO! Storms I am getting twisted, my age is getting to me. Perhaps this will be useful for me, I must remember my humanity, it must be preserved. I need advice. Harmony that’s it. _

He stood up and pulled a box from his travel bag. He opened it, the inside was made of aluminium, a spike a small one. The metal wasn’t really important but it was duraluminium infused with Connection to Preservation. He pushed it into his palm ignoring the pain and blood.

“ _ Harmony. I need to speak to you. I need advice from you. _ ”   
He waited for a minute,  _ He will need some time, he’s busy. _

“ _ Hello, Nazan. What do you need advice on? _ ” Harmony, Sazed’s voice spoke within his mind,

He knew that Harmony would only read his surface thoughts and leave his copperminds alone because of an old Oath they made.

“ _ I think my ambition and age are mingling in an unhealthy way. I am starting to see empathy and human relationships as dangerous for my future. I need advice on this Sazed. _ ”

Sazed took a moment to think, “ _ You should store your Identity and any time you feel like you are losing focus on what matters tap it. You should focus for the time being on building relationships with the mortals to tie you back to humanity. Cultivate your more selfless elements or you shall be lost Nazan. _ ”

Nazan nodded mostly for himself, “ _ Yes, Sazed thank you for your advice. Goodbye, look after Scadrial for me please. _ ”

Harmony sent a pulse of acceptance to Nazan. Nazan tore the spike from his hand and placed it back into the box before shutting it. He tapped a little health from his goldmind which repaired his bleeding palm.

Nazan let himself lie again on his bed and he fell into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that bit with Harmony at the end wasn't part of my plan but it just made sense given the context of the chapter and some events not delved into so far.


	7. Nightmare

**_Ash fell from the sky and a massive army of monsters charged a small army of men._ **

**_Nazan saw them cut the monsters down as if they knew exactly what they needed to do. The battle went on for a time but the men started falling, one by one getting cut down by the massive swords. One of the beasts came close to Nazan who tapped steel and ran back from the beast. The creature's skin tore all across it showing the muscles underneath the skin, he shook with fear. His metal minds were nearly empty, he had to use them to retreat to the Pits. He walked back away from the Koloss which charged at him suddenly and Nazan jumped. He tripped and the Koloss grabbed his fallen body. The beast prepared to tear him in half, it's fingers pushing into him, he screamed in agony and…_ **

"Nazan?"

He woke up and all of the metals in his stomach burned, pewter, tin, steel, iron, bronze, copper, zinc, bronze and bendalloy, and he jumped on instinct at the voice with a small knife falling into his hand. 

"Nazan!" At his name he froze, 

_ Jasnah?  _

He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and saw Jasnah in a nightgown only a few metres away from his bed and felt via his life sense Shallan at the door.

He stopped burning the metals and the knife became smoke from a quick Soulcast. 

He spoke his voice tired, "Shallan leave us please. I will know if you try to eavesdrop." 

Shallan silently walked away. 

Jasnah closed the door and waited. 

Nazan sat back onto the bed and dropped his head into his hands. He breathed slowly in and out letting the tension dissolve into non-existence. 

Nazan said, "I'm sorry, I assume I was shouting or something?" 

Jasnah sat herself beside him and said, "You were shouting it sounded like you were in danger. What were you dreaming of?" 

"I dreamed of the day I was almost killed. It would have been very brutal. Even the wound was brutal."

She didn't say anything, just sat with him. That was enough. 

**-Jasnah-**

He seemed so...broken sitting there looking forward towards nothing. He looked exhausted but wasn't even trying to sleep. She saw him absentmindedly tapping at a ring of bronze.  _ Why would he wear all that jewelry to sleep but leave other valuables away from him. Not to protect them so what? Not the time, I must focus on helping him, not studying him.  _

She put her freehand on his left hand. He looked at her with a small smile. 

_ That wasn't intentional, he didn't mean to smile. He really does trust me.  _

His body relaxed and he grabbed a vial of oil off his bedside table with suspended balls of something within it. He pulled the stop from it and drank it,  _ What!  _

Jasnah asked, "What was that?" 

He looked uncomfortable suddenly and said, "Metals, I needed some to restore energy. Used some on instinct." 

_ Should I ask? There's not any harm.  _

"Nazan, what do you mean?" 

"Metal is power. My power. The power of my people. Not all of my people hold the powers, just a small number. I'll tell you more, later when we're ready." 

_ This isn't distrust but he's playing a very complex game and the strain is starting to get to him.  _

They sat together in a comfortable silence until the sun began to rise.

She said, "I must get changed, Nazan. Are you feeling better?" 

Nazan nodded and stood up again. He Soulcast the air into a small knife made of steel and slipped it into his sleeve. 

She left and returned to her own room where she changed into a proper havah for the day ahead. 

_ He has told me that he is an Elsecaller and as Ivory has said before, they were all broken.  _

Ivory grew to her size and spoke, "He is damaged." 

Jasnah countered, "So am I. That is the only way for a spren to bond with us humans." 

"You are broken in a stable way. He is not stable, he is consistently chaotic." 

"He isn't chaotic, he just seems that way. He has a plan, I trust him." 

Ivory turned his head towards her seemingly in thought before speaking again, "Ah, you care for him." 

She sighed, "Yes Ivory, I do. Perhaps too much but I do." 

He seemed bothered but accepting as he shrunk till he couldn't be seen and the size of a speck of dust riding on Jasnah's havah. 

Jasnah and Shallan ate their breakfasts before going to the Palaneum and her alcove. 

Shallan as she read the book Jasnah assigned to her kept looking back up at Jasnah with a look that Jasnah recognised by now as the look Shallan had when she wanted to ask a question. 

Jasnah snapped after the sixth time, "What?" 

Shallan blushed and wilted slightly, "Is Nazan alright?" 

Jasnah sighed slightly, "Yes he is perfectly alright, he is probably planning a new fabrial or working on an improved design for that gravity fabrial." 

**-Nazan-**

He knew a Highstorm was to come by the end of the day and he planned to use it for an experiment. He left the Conclave and walked down to the market and to a weapons shop.

He looked around the shop at a few swords, he found one that looked like a saber. He picked it up,  _ good this blade feels good and right. _

He buys the saber for an emerald broam and thinks…

And thinks…

And thinks…

_ I will be ready for the Highstorm but should I do this? Even if it is dangerous, there are consequences to the plan but sometimes you must take huge risks for a gargantuan reward. _

The hours passed quickly as he was thinking. He used the Lashing Fabrial prototype, which was annoyingly large going from his hand and all of the way up his arm to his shoulder, he Lashed directly upwards at the mountain to the side of Kharbranth. He fell into the sky quickly; he was above the mountain and canceled the Lashing while storing the majority of his weight.

He dropped onto the mountain stormside and sat facing stormward. He saw the stormwall approaching very fast and started compounding weight making him impossible to move. The Highstorm crashed into him with the dust, debris and water choking him. He tapped his cadiummind and his goldmind. The stormwall passed him and the main body of the storm surrounded him. The storm raged inside him more and more. He saw shapes around him in the storm and he felt the darkness and light choking his body.

_ It’s time. _

He unsheathed the saber and rested it across his lap, holding it tightly to his lap. He filtered the Stormlight into pure Breath within him and he saw more and more colour in the storm. 

Nazan’s heart stopped beating and he Commanded, “ **Destroy my enemies and protect my friends.** ” The Investiture flowed like a river into the saber which changed… the saber started glowing in ultraviolet and…

**_He walked down a street and turned to take a shortcut through a sidestreet. Andrew halfway down the sidestreet heard, “Hey, you there stop!”_ **

**_He looked behind him and saw a tall man in a dark hoodie step into view, holding a long knife._ **

**_“Give me your wallet, or I’ll gut you,”_ ** **_  
_ ** **_Andrew pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed it towards the mugger. The mugger walked closer and reached out towards the wallet but Andrew threw it at his face and kicked the criminal to the ground. Andrew snatched his wallet and ran towards the exit of the sidestreet._ **

**_He got close to the exit before he felt a flash of pain in his back and looked behind him. Andrew saw a knife in his left side of his back and collapsed to the ground in pain._ **

**_Andrew started to see spots of black in his vision and the blackness consumed his vision quickly._ **

“ Hi! My name is Nightmare. Who is our enemy? ”


	8. First Ghostblood and Revelation

**-Jasnah-**

Jasnah felt a hint of worry at the knowledge of Nazan still outside during a Highstorm. She knew that Kharbranth was protected from the Highstorms but still  _ why is he still outside its been hours since he left? Has he left the city? No, he isn’t Wit, that’s not his type of thing. He would have said goodbye, right? _

Her worry started growing within her though she kept her expression serious as she ate her dinner with Shallan, one eye looking towards the door.

Shallan seemed to understand that Jasnah was not in the mood for talking and quietly ate. The air seemed to stand still as the door to the Conclave opened and Nazan walked in. He was wearing a new sword in a metal sheath on his belt.

_ That is strange, he has a Shardblade from being of the Third Ideal, why would he need a sword like that? _

He walked in with a confident grin as if he was in complete control of the area around him but  _ it’s fake, he’s really grinning but only as a shield from his problems. Just like me. _

**-Nazan-**

“ Oh, I like that one, Naz, she’s smart like actually smart. I understand why you like her so much. Does she count as a friend? ” Nightmare asked,

He suppressed a sigh and thought at him, ‘ _ Nightmare, yes she counts as a friend and shut up, let me focus. _ ’

He walked over to Jasnah and Shallan trying to maintain the air of confidence that he had become used to wielding as a weapon and a suit of armour but  _ Nightmare is really terrifying with that ability of his. _

Jasnah seemed to relax but kept the stern expression on her face, “Nazan, you have returned. How are you?”   
“ Awww, I think she was worried about you, she’s nice. ”

He ignored Nightmare, “I’m good, I was just working on an experiment.”

Jasnah glanced again at Nightmare before speaking again, “What sort of experiment were you working on?”

“I was testing a prototype of the gravitation Fabrial and I was using the Highstorm to power a new fabrial.”   
“What sort of new fabrial?” Jasnah’s curiosity tore past her sternness,

He smiled genuinely this time and said, “A prototype Shardblade of course.”   
Shallan went slack jawed and even Jasnah looked shocked to her core. Jasnah glanced at the sheathed sword and clearly understood that Nightmare was the prototype in question.

Shallan asked, “What a Shardblade? A prototype Shardblade?”   
Nazan put his hand on Nightmare’s hilt, “Yes, I am getting close, one of the main problems is being able to dismiss and summon the Blade, that is a power that is difficult to simulate.”

He sat down beside Jasnah making sure that Nightmare wouldn’t slide out of it’s sheath. He and Jasnah quietly spoke to each other on historical events of the past. After the dinner, he went to work further on the more compact prototype of the Lashing Fabrial.

He spent the next month continuing his work on the Fabrial waiting for the moment Shallan would Soulcast for the first time. The time came quickly and he came to the Kharbranthian hospital that Shallan had been taken to. 

He knew he had to wait for Jasnah to arrive for the moment that Kabsal would try to assassinate her. He and Jasnah came to check on Shallan two days after her supposed suicide attempt.

Jasnah said to Shallan her voice stiff, dead, “I have been told that my tutelage is demanding, perhaps harsh. This is one reason why I often refuse to take wards.”   
Shallan looked down, “I apologize for my weakness, Brightness,” 

Jasnah was displeased he could tell, “I did not mean to suggest fault in you, child. I was attempting the opposite. Unfortunately I’m … unaccustomed to such behaviour.”

“Apologizing?” Shallan asked,

“Yes.”

“Well, you see,” Shallan said, “in order to grow proficient at apologizing, you must first make mistakes. That’s your problem, Jasnah. You’re absolutely terrible at making them.”

Jasnah’s expression softened,  _ Shallan is acting like normal, that’s a good sign _ . “The king mentioned to me that you would be returning to your family.”   
“What? When?”   
“When he met me in the hallway outside,” Jasnah said, “and finally gave me permission to visit you.”   
“You make it sound as if you were waiting out there.” Shallan said confused,

Jasnah didn’t reply.

“But your research!”

“Can be done in the hospital waiting chamber.” Jasnah hesitated. “It has been somewhat difficult for me to focus these last few days.”   
Nazan nodded, slightly.

“Jasnah! That’s quite nearly  _ human  _ of you!” Nazan flinched internally at the bluntness. Jasnah regarded her reprovingly, and Shallan winced, clear regret on her face.

“I’m sorry. I’ve learned poorly, haven’t I?”

“Or perhaps you are just practicing the art of the apology. So that you will not be unsettled when the need arises, as I am.”

“How very clever of me.”

“Indeed.”

“Can I stop now, then?” Shallan said. “I think I've had quite enough practice.”

“I should think,” Jasnah said, “that apology is an art of which we could use a few more masters. Do not use me as a model in this. Pride is often mistaken for faultlessness.” Jasnah leaned forward. “I am sorry, Shallan Davar. In overworking you, I may have done the world a disservice and stolen from it one of the great scholars of the rising generation.”

Shallan blushed and Nazan saw her eyes flicker to Jasnah’s safehand. Jasnah took the book from beneath her arm and set it on the bed beside Shallan. “This is for you.”   
Shallan looked through it, frowning in confusion and looked up at Jasnah.

“It’s called the Book of Endless Pages,” Jasnah said.

“Er, I’m pretty sure it’s not endless, Brightness.” She showed the last page,

Nazan snorted quietly and Jasnah smiled. “It’s a metaphor, Shallan. Many years ago, someone dear to me made a very good attempt at converting me to Vorinism. This was the method he used. You search for truth, but you also hold to your faith. There is much to admire in that. Seek out the Devotary of Sincerity. They are one of the very smallest of the devotaries, but this book is their guide.”   
“One with blank pages?”

“Indeed. They worship the Almighty, but are guided by the belief that there are always more answers to be found. The book cannot be filled, as there is always more answers to be found. The book cannot be filled, as there is always something to learn. This devotary is a place where one is never penalized for questions, even those challenging Vorinism’s own tenets.” She shook her head. “I cannot explain their ways. You should be able to find them in Vedenar, though there are none in Kharbranth.”   
Shallan said, “I...I hadn’t thought to find ardents who were willing to question their own beliefs.”   
Nazan ignored the rest of the exchange as with his tin enhanced senses he could hear Kabsal arguing with a woman outside. 

Kabsal came into the room and approached, he said, “Finally! Old Mungam can be a real tyrant.”

Shallan asked, “Mungam?”   
“The ardent who runs this place,” Kabsal said. “I should have been allowed in immediately. After all, I know what you need to make you better!” He pulled out a jar of jam, smiling broadly.

Jasnah remained on her stool, regarding Kabsal across the bed. “I would have thought,” she said dryly, “that you would allow Shallan a respite, considering how your attentions drove her to despair.”   
Kabsal flushed, it was a real flush of embarrassment, Nazan could see it with his perfect colour recognition.

“It wasn’t you, Kabsal,” Shallan said. “I just… wasn’t ready for life away from my family estate. I still don’t know what came over me. I’ve never done anything like that before.”   
Kabsal smiled, pulling a stool over for himself. “I think,” he said, “that the lack of colour in these places is what keeps people sick so long. That and the lack of proper food.” He winked, turning the jar toward Shallan. It was deep, dark red. “Strawberry.”   
“Never heard of it,” Shallan said.

“It’s exceedingly rare,” Jasnah said, reaching for the jar. “Like most plants from Shinovar, it can’t grow in other places.”

Kabsal looked surprised as Jasnah removed the lid and dipped a finger into the jar. She hesitated, then raised a bit of the jam to her nose to sniff at it.

“I was under the impression that you dislike jam, Brightness Jasnah,” Kabsal said.

“I do,” she said. “I was simply curious about the scent. I’ve heard that strawberries are very distinctive.”

Nazan said, “It’s been a long time since I ate strawberries, perhaps a decade back, maybe longer now.”   
Kabsal looked confused, “Are you from Shinovar then?”   
Nazan laughed, “No, no, no I am from a very distant place, you wouldn’t know it.”   
Kabsal moved on, pulling out a small loaf of the fluffy bread and said, “I brought bread as well. It’s nice of you not to blame me, Shallan, but I can see that my attentions were too forward. I thought, maybe, I could bring this and …”   
“And what?” Jasnah asked. “Absolve yourself? ‘I’m sorry I drove you to sucide. Here’s some bread.’”   
Kabsal blushed, looking down while Nazan chuckled loudly.

“Of course I’ll have some,” Shallan said, glaring at Jasnah. “And she will too. It was very kind of you, Kabsal.” She took the bread, breaking off a chunk for Kabsal, one for herself, one for Nazan and then one for Jasnah.

“No,” Jasnah said. “Thank you.”   
“Jasnah,” Shallan said. “Would you please at least try some?”

Jasnah sighed, “Oh, very well.” She took the bread, holding it as Shallan and Kabsal ate. Nazan started tapping gold as he ate the bread.

“You should really try the jam,” Kabsal said to Shallan. “Strawberry is hard to find. I had to make quite a number of inquiries.”   
“No doubt bribing merchants with the king’s money,” Jasnah noted.

Kabsal sighed. “Brightness Jasnah, I realise that you are not fond of me. But I’m working very hard to be pleasant. Could you at least pretend to do likewise?”

Jasnah eyed Shallan, and kept quiet.

_ Kabsal, you are a rusting mistwraith, does murder count as pleasantness? _

He ignored the ensuing conversation pulling out a coin from the pouch tied to his belt. He watched as Kabsal stood up shaking and started stumbling towards the door. Nazan stood up and eased Kabsal to the ground as he died from the poisoning and he heard Jasnah shout for a garnet and then gasp.    
Nazan stood up again and rushed to Shallan then Soulcast her blood to remove the poison from it. Jasnah looked at Shallan with a combination of righteous anger and disappointment as she took back the fake soulcaster.

“How long ago do you think she stole it?” Jasnah asked softly,

“After your initial philosophy lesson. The one where you Soulcast the thieves. She probably lost her temper, remember the law that the Ardent Soulcasters aren’t allowed to use their powers to kill people.” He explained,

Jasnah looked up at him with a strange expression, “Nazan, how long have you known about this?”   
Nazan flinched and said, “A long time before I met you.”   
Jasnah looked confused, “You can see the future.”   
“I know parts of the future but not everything.” Nazan said feeling panic grew inside him, Nightmare tried to strike his mind but Nazan burned copper shielding his mind for a time.

“What do you know of the future? What specifics... my friend?” She said the last part hesitantly, 

They left the hospital room as nurses and surgeons came in to care for Shallan. He stayed quiet until they had left the hospital and were far away from anyone who could listen in to their conversation.

“Jasnah, I cannot tell you everything as that would make you act differently therefore changing the future and making my knowledge useless, but I know lots about the future, and what I know tells me that the future is dark.”

“I will act as necessary to improve the future.” Jasnah said looking irritated,

“Jasnah you do not understand how important you are to the future, in fact neither do I. I know you are important but I don’t know everything that will happen so I must only exploit my knowledge in specific ways to organise a massive change in the future.” Nazan explained, “But anyway there is only a small amount of time left before I will explain a large amount of my knowledge to you.”

“How small an amount of time?” Jasnah asked,

“Certain details are hard for me to know but I believe in less than two weeks, I won’t tell you much about the future. Instead, I will tell you of the past and my true capabilities. Is that enough Jasnah?” He asked,

“For now, Nazan but you are making me feel distrustful towards you.”   
He sighed tiredly, “Okay, I will show you something that no one knows about, not really.”

He breathed in a small amount of Stormlight and unsheathed Nightmare. For ten heartbeats he saw that horrific scene again before returning back to the moment. He looked up at Jasnah who looked shocked and terrified…  _ Oh no, Nightmare projects that ability of his to everyone in the proximity, rust and Ruin. _

The glow of ultraviolet light came from the sword and Nazan said, “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware of that being capable of affecting people nearby.”   
She looked shaky and said, “It’s fine, what is that sword?”   
“ Get her to touch me, I will be able to speak to her then. ” Nightmare spoke into his mind,

“He is a Type 4 BioChromatic Entity. A sword filled to the brim with Investiture, to fake a Shardblade. Well, far worse than a Shardblade. He is Nightmare.” 

“That isn’t a proper explanation, what is a Biochromatic Entity and what do you mean by Investiture?” Asked Jasnah exasperated.

_ I already knew what I would need to do even if I would prefer not to. _

“A BioChromatic Entity is something created by Awakening, there are three important components to them, first they are fueled by colour, second they are Invested by Breaths and third they are directed by a Command. Investiture is the raw power of creation, Stormlight is the form of Investiture of Honor but it’s not the only form.” Nazan said, “A Type 4 BioChromatic Entity is a BioChromatic manifestation in an artificial host far removed from a living form.”

Jasnah asked, “What exactly are Breaths?”

“Well the technical term for them is BioChromatic Breaths. In a different land from yours or mine every single human being is born with a single Breath making them naturally more Invested than those in other lands. I travelled there a long time ago to learn their Invested Art and gathered a large number of Breaths.”   
Jasnah and him fell into the rabbithole of scholarship until Nightmare spoke again, “ Come on let her touch me, I want to protect her you know I do. I was literally made to protect you and your friends and this means she’ll develop a Bond with me in a safe environment. ”   
He flinched at the sudden return of the voice into his mind.  _ That does make sense, fine. _

“Jasnah, Nightmare wants to be able to speak to you but he needs you to touch him for you to be able to do so.”   
She thought for a moment before speaking again, “First what is his Command?”

Nazan said, “The Command is ‘destroy my enemies and protect my friends’. Though he is still very dangerous even to my friends because of his innate abilities, he feeds on Investiture even the Innate Investiture that causes things to live.”

She nodded and put her freehand onto Nightmare. 

“ Hi Jasnah! Nice to finally speak to you. Nazan, I like her. I can see everything in her mind, she’s a good one. ”   
“Wait what Nightmare, you can read anyone’s mind if they are touching you?” He said, 

“ Yeah! Don’t worry I will not reveal specifics unless it is for your protection. It would be impolite to reveal other people’s secrets. ”

Jasnah took her hand of Nightmare, “ Don’t worry Jasnah, I can still talk to you but I can only read your surface thoughts and even then I am limited in range. ”   
Nazan sheathed Nightmare in the aluminium sheath and they returned to the Conclave. When Jasnah eventually went back to the hospital to talk to Shallan, he let her go on her own. He finished working on the prototype of the Lashing Fabrial,  _ let's test it _ .

He used a double Lashing directly upwards and he landed onto the ceiling. He stayed on the ceiling for the entire time Jasnah was away, nearly an hour. Nazan slowly dropped back to his seat by unLashing until he was on a half Lashing.

Jasnah looked at him with a hint of excitement but that was overshadowed by the cold fury on her face.

Nazan said, “Well, I think that the Gravity Fabrial is finally fully functional.”   
She sat beside him and sighed with frustration. Nazan put his hand on hers and she tensed before relaxing. Her expression relaxed back into her calm sternness.

Hours later as Jasnah and Nazan researched, Shallan came and she and Jasnah had their exchange. Eventually Shallan slipped into Shadesmar and both Jasnah and him jumped into Shadesmar, cognitively.

He threw a rope into the sphere as he stored weight and Commanded, “Wrap around human and pull to me.”

The rope stiffened and wrapped around the drowning Shallan and pulled her up to Jasnah’s raft.

They returned to the Physical Realm and Jasnah snapped, “Idiot girl! You have no idea how dangerous that was. Visiting Shadesmar with only a single dim sphere? Idiot!”

Shallan said, “I want to be part of it,”

“Excuse me?”

“Whatever you’re doing. Whatever it is you’re researching. I want to be part of it.”

“You have no idea what you’re saying.”   
“I know,” Shallan said. “I’m ignorant. There’s a simple cure for that. I want to know, Jasnah. I want to be your ward in truth. Whatever the source of this thing you can do, I can do it too. I want you to train me and let me be part of your work.”   
“You stole from me.”   
“I know and I’m sorry.”

Jasnah raised an eyebrow.   
“I won’t excuse myself,” Shallan said. “But Jasnah, I came here intending to steal from you. I was planning it from the beginning.”

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”

“I planned to steal from Jasnah the bitter heretic,” Shallan said. “I didn’t realise I’d come to regret the need for that theft. Not just because of you, but because it meant leaving this. What I’ve come to love. Please. I made a mistake.”   
“A large one. Insurmountable.”   
“Don’t make a larger one by sending me away. I can be someone you don’t have to lie to. Someone who knows.”   
“Shallan, even if Jasnah refuses you, I’m willing to bring you under my wing.”   
Jasnah sat back and looked at him. She then took a deep breath. “Sit down.”   
Shallan sat down and Jasnah continued. “You will never lie to me again, and you will never steal from me, or anyone, again.”   
“I promise.”

Nazan jumped on to the ceiling using a Lashing and then dropped to the other side of the alcove letting Shallan to scoot over to Jasnah. Jasnah showed several sheets of notes to Shallan and said, “You wanted to be part of what I’m doing? Well, you’ll need to read this. It’s about the Voidbringers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that chapter was fun to write especially the conversation about Nightmare and Awakening. Also the subtle true beginning of the relationship between Nazan and Jasnah.


	9. Knowledge and a Broken Ship

**-Saoene-**

She sat beside a god or a fool, she had heard a dozen names for him but the one that Nazan called him by was Hoid. Hoid and her sat inside Kholinar’s gates waiting for another god to arrive.

“Wit, do you know why I am here?” She spoke quietly.   
“No but I rarely know why I am anywhere so why would I know why you are somewhere?” Hoid responded lightly.

“A Herald is to arrive with their Honorblade, and I am here to take it, will you get in my way?”   
“No, as long as you don’t serve Him and you have this world’s best interests in mind, I will allow you to take it, if you avoid hurting the Herald.”   
She nodded and let Hoid to monologue until the gates started shaking and a Shardblade cut the bar holding them closed. The gates swung open and a dark skinned man stood there. His hair was long and matted, with a ragged length of cloth wrapping his waist. His muscles glistened, wet as if he’d just swum a great distance, holding a massive Shardblade at his side, pointing down.

He stepped forward unsteadily and said, “Go. Run! Raise the call! Give the warning!”   
“Who are you?” one of the guards forced out. “What warning? Who attacks?”   
The Herald raised a hand to his head, wavering, “Who am I? I...I am Talanel’Elin, Stonesinew, Herald of the Almighty. The Desolation has come. Oh, God… it has come. And I have failed.”

The Herald collapsed dropping the Shardblade clattering to the ground and Saoene grasped a small box with Aon Ire on it and activated it. Time slid to a halt and Saoene rushed over to the Honorblade and summoned her own Shardblade and unbonded it immediately while grasping the Honorblade by it’s hilt and felt it’s power flow into her. She quickly dismissed it and moved her Blade in the Honorblade’s place. Her blade was shaped very similarly to the Honorblade. She then returned to her seat beside Hoid who’s eyes followed her the entire time during the frozen time.

She let time return to normal and smiled.  _ I have it brother, our first Honorblade. _

**-Nazan-**

He sat in his cabin on the ship, the Wind's Pleasure. He compounded mental speed and the air became almost like amber to his incredible speed of thought. He wrote his plan, while tapping a little Fortune from his Chromiummind. 

_ Taravangian only got to access this level of thought once and had a completely erratic level of intelligence and level of empathy. _

He spent a day working on the plan before Compounding copper to memorise the plan before dropping the Compounding of mental speed and tapping a zincmind band wrapped around his arm.

He finally left his cabin and Jasnah and Shallan speaking at long last, he burned tin and heard Jasnah speaking on Shadesmar and spren.

He Soulcast a box out of the air beside Jasnah and said, “Hello, what are you two talking about?”   
Jasnah looked at him with a look that told him instantly that she knew he already knew and she said, “I am teaching Shallan on Shadesmar, do you have anything to add?”   
He thought for the briefest of moments before speaking, “What you call Shadesmar is only a small part of a vast land, the Cognitive Realm is a place of thought and emotion. It is shaped by the thoughts and feelings of every living thing. Spren are Splinters of what you, Shallan might call gods specifically of Honor and Cultivation. There are other spren of a different entity but today is too bright for talk of Him. I don’t call them gods, I understand them far too much to call them gods.”   
Shallan looked at him with confusion and said, “What do you mean?”   
He clicked a small box with the Aon Ate blocking their conversation from being overheard, “The technical term for these beings are Shards there are three around these parts. Well, there used to be, one of them is dead but the other two are still alive and are working against each other. Shards are entities of Investiture, they are incredibly powerful, able to alter worlds but they are restricted by one major limitation, their Intent which is hard to properly explain.” Nazan said rubbing his head, “The best way to explain is the Ideal of the Shard, the motivation of the power. Now, this is why I don’t see them as gods and that is because of the fact that each Shard is held by a Vessel, a mortal who took it up. Anyone can become a Shard if they are near the Shard when it doesn’t have a Vessel. Here is the reason I will not try to take a Shard, the Vessel slowly gets twisted to fit the Intent until they aren’t controlling the Shard instead the Shard controls the Vessel.”

Jasnah looked at him with open curiosity, before speaking again, “What is the other Shard in Roshar?”

“Are you sure you want to know his name? Personally I would rather I didn’t know anything about that monster.”   
Shallan looked nervous but said, “Yes, I think we need to learn it.”   
He burned copper and said, “His name is Odium and that Shard fits its Vessel as perfectly as any Shard and Vessel combination I have heard of. He is what brought the Desolations to this world and is a monster who has caused devastation everywhere across everywhere he has been. I have been making moves against him.”

Jasnah asked, “What sort of moves?”

Nazan shook his head, “This place isn’t safe for this sort of conversation. I don’t know what ears are here, I have put some basic protections over here but Shards are too dangerous.”   
“Where then?” Jasnah asked,

“Urithiru, I have already scouted it out.”

Jasnah looked at him shocked, “You know where it is?”

“Yes, but accessing it is quite difficult there is definitely an Oathgate on the Shattered Plains, there are others but they are mostly under other people’s control and exposing them now would be foolish. Anyway I am going to enjoy the sun for once.” Nazan said jumping off the box and Soulcast a wooden platform attached to the side of the side.

He lay down and started storing warmth, health, physical speed and weight.

Some time later, he sensed Shallan walking towards him and she stood near him for a minute before speaking, "Er Nazan, can I speak to you?" 

Nazan stopped storing and tapped steel slightly before jumping to his feet, "Of course Shallan, what do you want to speak about?" He asked. 

She blushed and then asked, "Did you really mean it when you said you would take me as a ward if Jasnah wouldn't?" 

"Yes, you are a Surgebinder, leaving you to others could be dangerous. Anyway, I would feel bad leaving you and your family to die." 

"Thank you, Nazan." 

He nodded and Soulcast the platform back into smoke as he jumped back onto the ship proper. 

He walked back to his cabin and stored Stormlight from the spheres in his nicrosilmind. He used an Aon device to produce light in his cabin. 

Not long after, someone knocked on the door. He Commanded at a rope, "Act as my hand and do as I will." 

Breath left him and the desk went gray, the rope stiffened and moved around the handle of the door, opening the door several feet from him. Jasnah Kholin walked in raising her eyebrow at the rope. 

He smiled and said, "Well, I believe you are here to ask questions on my capabilities. First, please close the door so we have privacy." 

Jasnah did so and took a stool sitting beside him. 

"Your Breath to mine." The Breath flowed from the rope back into him and the rope collapsed back onto the ground. 

"Where would you like to begin?" He asked her. 

"How about the time you swallowed metal?" 

"Yes, that is simpler than other things. The reason I swallow metal is for Allomancy. Allomancy starts with the ingestion of metals, specific ones. Then you 'burn' them and as you burn them you gain access to a specific ability linked to the type of metal."

"Which metals?" Jasnah asked, 

"There are 16 main ones, 8 which are pure metals and another 8 which are alloys. Iron, steel, tin, pewter, zinc, brass, copper, bronze, gold, electrum, cadmium, bendalloy, aluminium, duralumin, chromium and nicrosil. There are others but those are far too rare to be relevant. Actually that reminds me you should get a hat lined with aluminium."

"Why?" She asked. 

"Allomancy is capable of influencing the emotions of others and aluminium shields you from it." 

"What else can Allomancy do?" 

"Iron allows you to pull on metals, steel allows you to push on metals, tin enhances your senses and pewter enhances your physical abilities such as strength, speed and endurance. Zinc and brass allow you to influence emotion in different ways, bronze allows you to detect use of Investiture and copper shields you from detection by bronze and similar abilities along with shielding you from emotional Allomancy. Gold let's you see a shadow of your past self while electrum allows you to see your future actions. Cadmium creates a bubble of slowed time around you making it so time seems from your perspective outside of the bubble seem to move faster and bendalloy creates a bubble of sped up time around you making it so time seems from your perspective outside of the bubble slow. Aluminium will wipe your Allomantic reserves from your body, duralumin makes the metals you are burning to be used in an instant but during that moment the ability the metals grants becomes enhanced to its peak. Chromium wipes other people's Allomantic reserves if you come into contact with them and nicrosil affects others with the ability of duralumin."

“Why do you wear so much jewelry made of metal? It wouldn’t help with Allomancy.” Jasnah said.

“That is for Feruchemy, my natural art. I am sorry if I don’t explain it as clearly as Allomancy as for me, Feruchemy is the same as moving a muscle that I have wielded my entire life. It is far harder to explain than something I learnt when I was older. In Feruchemy instead of consuming the metal, a Feruchemist Invests the metal with a part of a trait for a time so later we can drain the trait to enhance ourselves. For instance if I Invest 50% of my strength into my metalmind for an hour, I can drain it to be at 150% of my strength for an hour or 200% for half of an hour and so on. Iron stores physical weight, steel stores physical speed, zinc stores mental speed, brass stores warmth, tin stores senses, pewter stores physical strength, copper stores memories, bronze stores wakefulness, chromium stores Fortune, nicrosil stores Investiture, cadmium stores breath, bendalloy stores energy, aluminum stores Identity, duralumin stores Connection, gold stores health and electrum stores determination." He spoke hesitantly, 

Jasnah looked intrigued and started asking, “By breath do you mean BioChromatic Breath or normal breath?”

“Normal breath, BioChromatic Breath can be stored in nicrosil. The metals used for storing are called metalminds and for instance iron used as storage would be called an ironmind.” He explained. “There are tricks that I have mastered that I won’t go into detail about but there is one trick that is famous back home. This trick is called Compounding; it works by allomantically burning a metalmind, as Allomancy burns metals and gains access to the power of Preservation while normal Feruchemy uses purely your own power so when combined you can gain ridiculous amounts of power as long as you have access to metals.”

They continued talking about Compounding for the rest of the day. Over the next week he spent a lot of time storing as much as possible. Exactly a week from that conversation he lay with his eyes closed faking being asleep as a dagger went between his ribs.

His lifesense told him there were three men in the room, two of them at the door. He burned Bendalloy then summoned Akilah as a rapier immediately piercing the man over him!

He leapt to his feet, dropping Akilah and unsheathing Nightmare, not letting the visions slow him as he cut through the two other men. The men’s skin and clothes turned white and their eyes vaporised in their sockets.

He stopped burning Bendalloy and sheathed Nightmare and rushed out of his cabin seeing the flames spreading through the ship. He stepped into Jasnah’s cabin right after the man stabbed her through the chest, he stomped his foot breathing Stormlight and the ground beneath the men pulled them downwards like quicksand trapping them in the floor. He Compounded pewter until he became strong enough to crush bone with ease and Nazan grabbed the closest man’s head and crushed it between his palms. The men screamed but Nazan didn’t flinch and he summoned the Akilahblade and cut it through the remaining men in the room. He Soulcast them into smoke and dropped beside Jasnah who was breathing Stormlight and healing from the wound.

“Jasnah, there are more men above holding the crew hostage, I’m not sure where Shallan is my lifesense is scattered by the amount of death around here. The fire is spreading fast. I believe the only chance the crew and Shallan have is if we leave I can’t protect the crew while attacking the Ghostbloods. I have a safe way out. I can use the Surge of Transportation to take us far away though it will cost me a lot of Stormlight and I mean a lot of it.”   
She nodded with acceptance so he touched her and looked towards Urithiru in his mind. He pulled at it and his Stormlight burned away then they were on the Oathgate plateau at Urithiru.  _ Sorry Shallan but this will be for the best. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the majority of the rest of Words of Radiance, Saoene will be the main POV character with Kaladin, Shallan and maybe Ilan as secondary POVs.


	10. Duels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I have reached the point where I have to figure out how canon will diverge because of the effect of Nazan and Saoene's actions. It turns out Kaladin might be the character I have to worry about the most weirdly as he is affected in a lot of ways as you will see in this chapter.

**-Saoene-**

She walked up to Captain Kaladin who was speaking to one of his men. They were speaking softly on Amaran.

“You’re right he is no surgebinder, Captain.” She said.

The expected shock on the Captain and his soldier’s faces. She smirked and breathed in a nearly undetectable amount of Stormlight. She nodded and walked past the two soldiers casually. She started walking into the dueling arena as Captain Kaladin tried to grab her arm. She pushed his hand off her without looking and continued inside.

She sat down in the front row, she quickly checked her spheres and her gold bracers. Adolin walked out of the preparation room and four duelists came out of the opposing preparation room. She heard Dalinar react in fury and the fight began.

Saoene jumped into the fighting arena as she summoned her Honorblade and breathed in a small amount of Stormlight to move faster and hit stronger.

She could feel the surprise of the duelists but they reacted, the shardbearer in orange Plate turned to face her. She slammed her Blade into his raised sword faster than he could move it, he was pushed back but he corrected and when she slashed again he angled his sword to direct the Blade into the ground.

He struck out with his sword and she breathed in Stormlight and grabbed the sword making it as soft and pliable as clay. She bent the sword back towards the man, he jumped backwards in panic and he shouted for help. The green shardbearer turned away from Adolin and she smiled in excitement for the fight.

She pulled backwards while the green shardbearer cautiously approached her with a Shardblade held in his hands. 

“My lady I don’t want to hurt you, I suggest yielding.” Jakamav said.

She rolled her eyes, “You are right this is an unfair match.” She said dropping her Blade letting it turn to mist. 

The shardbearer hesitated and Saoene dropped into the ground with Cohesion making the ground become like liquid. She then pushed herself out of the ground at high speeds behind the shardbearer summoning her Honorblade and slammed it into Jakamav’s back making him crash into the ground. She stood on his back and punched the helmet, shattering it.

She shouted, “Do you yield! Or do I need to break some bones!”

He put up his hand signalling his surrender. She let him get up and Jakamav walked out of the arena. Abrobadar tried to tackle her but she made the air stiffen using Tension and he got trapped for a moment. She slashed with her Honorblade cracking the section of his Plate, she kicked at it causing it to break fully.

She saw Adolin take down one of the shardbearers he was fighting and she breathed in more Stormlight. She kicked Abrobadar across the arena and threw her Honorblade at the final shardbearer in deep black Plate. The shardbearer’s Plate cracked and distracted him from Adolin’s next attack. The shardbearer was knocked to the ground and Saoene summoned her Blade into her hand as Adolin forced him to yield.

She looked towards the high judge who reluctantly said, “The day goes to Brightlord Adolin.”

Saoene smirked as Adolin walked to her side, “Thank you Saoene. How long have you had a Shardblade for?”   
“A couple of years, now.”

“And that glowing thing?”

“A couple months, now get on with your part in this.”

He nodded as the king raised his hands, quieting the crowd.

“Warrior, duelmaster,” the king shouted, “I am greatly pleased by what you have accomplished today. This was a fight the like of which hasn’t been seen in Alethkar for generations. You have pleased your king greatly.”   
Cheers rang from around the arena.

“I offer you a boon,” the king proclaimed, pointing to Adolin as the cheering quieted. “Name what you wish of me or this court. It shall be yours. No man, having seen this display, could deny you.”   
“For my bon,” Adolin shouted to the quiet arena, “I demand the Right of Challenge. I demand the chance to duel Highprince Sadeas, right here and now, as redress for the crimes he committed against my house!”   
Sadeas stopped upon the steps. A murmur ran through the crowd.

Adolin continued, “Do you accept Highprince Sadeas or are you a coward?”   
Sadeas turned and red-faced said, “I accept Adolin Kholin-”   
Before he got a chance to say anything more Adolin interrupted, “Here today, that is when we shall duel in single combat for all of our Shards.”   
Sadeas flinched at being trapped but nodded, “I will need to have someone bring my Shardplate, I left it at my camp is that acceptable.”   
The king spoke, “Yes but you or your champion will need to be ready within three hours or you forfeit the challenge and your Shards to Adolin Kholin.”   
Sadeas nodded and quickly left.

Saoene spoke loudly breathing in enough Stormlight so that everyone could see her glowing, “Your grace, am I allowed a similar boon?”

The king nodded.

“Then I demand the Right of Challenge. I demand the chance to duel Highmarshal Amaram, tomorrow at noon for his taking of a title that doesn’t belong to him! He is no Knight Radiant, he is just a pretender, a commoner wearing a crown that doesn’t belong to him. I am a Knight Radiant of the Order of the Stonewards, now do you accept my challenge Highmarshal or are you a coward?”

She heard a gasp as she looked between the king and Amaram who both looked shocked.   
“Well, Highmarshal?”

He cleared his throat, “I accept your challenge what are your terms?”   
“Tomorrow at noon and we stake our shards and our claim to the title of Knight Radiant.”   
He nodded and she walked out into Adolin’s preparation room. She looked down at her clothes which were ripped and torn revealing a lot of skin. She sat down as Adolin walked in, servants quickly rushing over to remove the Plate. Navani, Shallan, Dalinar, Renarin and Kaladin rushed in excited. The Kholins and Shallan surrounded Adolin while Kaladin walked up to her.

He said softly, “Thank you.”   
“Your welcome Windrunner, now can you give me your shirt, this one is too damaged for these Alethi prudes to deal with.”   
He blushed as if he hadn’t noticed how much skin she was showing,  _ then again my safehand glove is intact so these prudes wouldn’t notice _ , he took his shirt off quickly handing it to her.

She spoke loudly, “Hey can everyone leave so I can change please?”

The Kholins looked at her confused.

“Now. Please?”

They left quickly and she changed her shirt. She left the room, Dalinar standing right outside.

“So, you are a Knight Radiant.” He looked at her in awe.

“Yes, Highprince Dalinar, I’m a Stoneward. Now I’m going to put down a feral dog. I need to check if my brother is alive.” She said walking away from the Highprince.

She swapped her dun spheres for infused ones at a moneychanger before returning to her quarters. She activated the spike communication device by pressing the button and putting the spike into her ear.

“Hey Nazan. I successfully picked a fight with Amaram.” She said feeling his mind bordering her own.

“Sao, well done, Jasnah and I are safe in Urithiru.” Nazan said happily

“Oh really, you and a beautiful woman alone, together for a couple of months. I wonder what is going to happen.”   
“SHUT UP SAOENE!” He screamed down the bond as she laughed.

Saoene turned off the device and returning the spike to its holster. She relaxed until the next day. Saoene put her leather armour on and put several pouches of spheres inside the armour. 

She walked into the dueling arena and summoned her Honorblade as Amaram walked into the arena. Saoene stood into a dueling stance and breathed in a little Stormlight.

Amaram glared at her and summoned his own Shardblade. She charged at him and struck hard. He parried and Saoene dismissed the Blade. She summoned it again straight into his Plate cracking the breastplate section. He tried to sweep at her so she parried the Blade with her Honorblade and used the Surge of Cohesion to make the ground beneath his feet liquid.    
He fell into the ground dropping his Blade and she breathed in a lot of Stormlight. She grabbed him by his head, she pulled him up and broke the helmet with a bash with the hilt of the Honorblade.

She suddenly couldn’t feel her leg and she glanced down seeing his Blade going past her other leg. She fell backwards and focused on healing with Stormlight and a small tap of Goldmind. Feeling returned to her legs and she turned the ground beneath her into liquid reorienting herself.

She sent herself into the air at high speeds and slashed at Amaram with her Honorblade. The breastplate section shattered and Saoene landed on her feet. Amaram tried to stab at Saoene who knocked the Blade away and kicked Amaram in the gut. He doubled over in pain and Saoene forced him into the ground.

“Do you yield?” she whispered into his ear.

“Yes, I yield!” He shouted in anger.

“Did you steal that Blade and Plate, tell the truth please?” She asked loudly.

“What are you talking about?”    
“You stole those Shards from Captain Kaladin, didn’t you?” She half asked, half shouted.

“Yes.” He whispered guiltily.

“Thank you for your honestly.” She said loudly. 

She walked away seeing Kaladin’s joyful expression. She collapsed onto a seat in the preparation room exhausted.


	11. A New Ideal

**-Nazan-**

He knelt on the ground breathing heavily,  _ why did that tire me so much? I was on a ship so perhaps the movement of the ship made it harder for Elsecalling across such a large distance.  _ He burned pewter to pull himself back up while Jasnah breathed in some Stormlight to renew herself.

She got up off the ground and looked around at Urithiru in sheer amazement, soot-black puffs appearing around her.   
“What are those?” A voice said coming from the collar of Jasnah’s nightgown.

Jasnah looked confused noticing the soot-black puffs, “Nazan? What type of spen are these?”   
“These are awespren, well the awespren of my friend’s domain.” He said, starting to walk towards the workshop.

Jasnah kept up with him, “Who’s your friend?”   
“ _ Sja-anat, I have someone for you to meet so please come to the workshop. _ ” He projected his thoughts through his bond with Sja-anat. “I will introduce you, she will arrive in a few moments.” He said opening the door to his workshop which had a thin layer of dust over everything.

A full sized mirror had been added since he bonded with Sja-anat. He pulled a stool out for Jasnah. He sat himself down on another stool and he heard Sja-anat speak into his mind, “ _ Sorry, I’ve been caring for the Sibling. I will be there in a few minutes. _ ” 

Nazan nodded to himself, “Okay, my friend is a defector from Odium’s forces, before she defected she was a high ranking general, these spren are the footprint of her existence.”   
Jasnah looked interested, “One of the Unmade?” She asked.

“Yes, this one is-” He got interrupted by the reflection moving behind Jasnah, “Ah, there she is, Jasnah Kholin meet Sja-anat, the Taker of Secrets; Sja-anat meet Jasnah Kholin the greatest scholar of this generation.”

The reflection of him looked towards Jasnah with white holes instead of eyes with a glowing silver mist flowing around it.

“ _ Hello Jasnah Kholin. Welcome to Urithiru, the safehaven of the Enlightened spren. _ ” Sja-anat spoke into their minds, “ _ Welcome back Nazan, no spies can get close to our domain, I’ve left the Oathgate spren alone. _ ”

Jasnah froze in shock and Ivory grew to his full size jumping backwards in fear.

Nazan yawned and stretched as Jasnah shook herself from the uncharacteristic shock. 

"Hello, Sja-anat. Why did you defect from Odium?" Jasnah asked switching to her scholarship mode. 

The mirror shimmered for a moment and when it stopped, Sja-anat was wearing ancient singer garb and her skin became marbled like a Singer though her features were still like his own. 

" _ I defected for my children, I desire freedom. Nazan provided the route for that freedom. _ "

Jasnah looked towards Nazan, "You bonded an Unmade?" She asked. 

His eyes widened, "Yes, I bonded her, how did you know?" 

"You left the view of the mirror but she is still reflecting your features even though she has shapeshifted to looking more like a parsh. Also you knew she was coming." Jasnah explained, "Which form of surgebinding does she grant?" 

Nazan chuckled softly, "A new Order, I am a Choicebringer. I gain from the bond the Surges of Transformation and Cohesion."

Ivory suddenly hissed in disgust, "You bonded one of His Spren, you bonded Her. She will corrupt you until you are just a pawn of Odium." 

Nazan rolled his eyes and threw to Jasnah a sphere of N-Light. 

Akilah grew to her full size on the bed, "No. Ivory, you are wrong. Sja-anat can be trusted, look at the sphere." Ivory looked down at the sphere, "That is impossible. That isn't Stormlight or Voidlight what is it?" 

Akilah smiled proudly, "That is our N-Light, it is our tool for separating us from Odium's touch." 

Jasnah looked at Akilah confused, "What is N-Light?" 

Nazan explained, "My Investiture refined slightly and infused into spheres. Sja-anat has been altering herself using N-Light to change her Intent enough to protect herself from Odium's influence." 

Akilah grabbed Ivory and dragged him out of the workshop. "Ivory, let's have a proper conversation together." 

Sja-anat pulled herself out of the mirror becoming a tall woman made of a black fog with accents of silver. Taller than any human about 9 feet tall with a cloak of silver light. She pulled the cloak around her body and pinned it with blue Light. She sat down on the bed with glowing red ribbons of light hanging in the air around her body. 

" _ Let's talk, Jasnah. _ " 

**-Kaladin-**

_ She actually made him confess. _

Kaladin paced at the top of a chasm, feeling… happy… no, content. Syl flitted around him seeming happy.

“Kaladin, you should tell Dalinar. Amaram has been removed from being the head of the new Knights Radiant.”   
Kaladin kept pacing in thought for a moment before stopping and looking at Syl.

“Soon, I’m just trying to plan how to do it. I need to do it right.”

Syl laughed in joy, “Yes, you should speak to that woman, Saoene. She isn’t a proper Knight Radiant, she doesn’t have a spren. I think that Blade has something to do with it, like that Assassin.”   
Kaladin looked up sharply, “Really? I think I should first talk to her. I’ll join her new Radiants and try to find out what she is all about.”   
Kaladin walked towards a tower that had been built overnight after Saoene beat Amaram. He got to the front of the tower and realised,  _ where’s the door? _

There was a small wooden panel too small to act as a door. There was a sign with a small picture of someone knocking on it. Kaladin knocked on the panel and in under a minute a small hole appeared in the wall showing the woman pushing it open with her bare hands.

She looked him up and down, “Hello Stormblessed, come in.”   
A door shaped part of the wall was pulled open like it was an actual door. Kaladin walked in and Saoene closed the wall again.

“Welcome to the headquarters of the new Knights Radiant.”    
She sat down behind a desk lying backwards with her legs on the desk. She looked straight at Syl and waved casually.

“Hello Sylphrena, it is an honour to have an honorspren here.”   
Syl jumped slightly backwards in surprise and so did Kaladin. “How can you see her? Or for that matter what her name is?”   
Saoene rolled her eyes, “It was easy for me, answering your questions in the opposite direction; Syl here is very famous back in the world of the spren and I have a trick or two for seeing entities such as her.”   
“Where is your spren?” Kaladin asked.

“I don’t have one. I wield the Honorblade of Talenelat'Elin so I am a Stoneward in my capacity.”   
“An Honorblade?”   
“A Shardblade that grants Surgebinding. There are only 10, one for each of the Heralds. Anyway, I assume you want to sign up as a Windrunner, right?” She put a piece of paper onto the desk.

He hesitated, “I can’t write but yes.”   
She sighed, “I forgot about Vorinism’s extreme gender roles. Syl can you act as a witness? Just swear all of your Ideals again and I will note which Ideal you are on.”

He swore the 1st and 2nd Ideals again and Saoene wrote something on the piece of paper.

“Well you are free to go. Oh I have sent to Bridge 4’s barracks your Shards” She opened the ‘door’ again.

“My Shards?” Kaladin asked.

“Of course Amaram stole your Shards I was just getting them back for you.” 

He walked out and she closed it behind him.

_ I need to deal with Graves then I will tell Dalinar that I’m a Knight Radiant. _

He arranged a patrol for Moash that would send him far from camp for a few hours during which he would lead a strike against Graves and his men. He had Teft wear the Shardplate and to hold the Shardblade.

“Syl, should I actually stop Graves from killing Elhokar?”   
“Of course, why?” Syl asked.

“But what if it helped Alethkar?”   
“I don’t know but it feels wrong, you are meant to protect people.” Syl said uncomfortably.

“Elhokar has hurt people wouldn’t it be better to stop him from hurting other people?”   
Syl just shook her head in discomfort, “Do you think he’s intended to hurt people?”   
“I don’t know.”   
“Are you just going to protect people you like?”   
Kaladin just froze thinking,  _ Are you just going to protect people you like? _ _   
_ _ Are you just going to protect people you like? _

_ Are you just going to protect people you like? _

_ Are you just going to protect people you like? _

_ Tien. Cenn. Dallet. _

“No, I can’t do that or I won’t be any better than Amaram or that lighteyes who let Tien die. **I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right** .”

Syl laughed in joy and he had the feeling to put his hand out and a Shardblade appeared in his hand. He glowed with a burst of Stormlight and he felt the urge to fight, run, fly.

He shouted to Teft and the others who were just staring at him, “Come on, we have a job to do.”   
He ran with the group of Bridge 4 men forcing their way into Graves’ hideout. Graves looked shocked but summoned his Shardblade as Kaladin got close. Graves put his back to the wall and slashed outwards at Kaladin, the Shardblade in Kaladin’s hand changed into a buckler knocking Graves’ Blade away and Teft stabbed Graves through the shoulder of the arm that held the Blade.

Graves’ Blade fell from his hand becoming mist and Kaladin sweeped Graves’ legs from under him. Graves hit the ground and Kaladin put a Full Lashing under Graves’ left hand pinning the only hand that Graves could summon his Shardblade into.

“Graves, you are under arrest for the attempted assassination of Elhokar. Do you have anything to say in your defence.” Kaladin said calmly.

Graves just shook his head.

“Well, men you heard him. Do any of you disagree with me executing him here and now to protect the king?”   
His men all shook their heads and Kaladin continued, “Graves, you are being put to death on order of Captain Kaladin of the Windrunners. Do you have any last words?”   
“I was trying to kill that terrible king for the future of Alethkar and Roshar, I hope you remember who it was who tried to fix things when the Desolation comes.”   
Kaladin nodded, “Your words are remembered. Teft.”

Teft understood the order and brought his Blade down on Graves’ head. Graves’ eyes smoked and burned his body going limp, a Blade appearing beside him. The conspiracy to kill Elhokar Kholin died with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaladin is revealed as a Windrunner and has sworn the Third Ideal without killing Syl. I am sure a lot of you wanted to see Kaladin tell Dalinar but I couldn't get a good way to do it like Shallan did. It just didn't feel right for Kaladin.


	12. Cursed Wound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder Rhythm of War spoilers in this fic.

**-Saoene-**

Dalinar Kholin stood in front of her desk waiting while she lounged with her feet on the desk.  _ What was he asking about again? Oh yeah, Knights Radiant. _

Ilan had finally arrived into the warcamps and was on a seat facing the Blackthorn’s back. She was in dullform but she looked at Dalinar with her normal intelligence.

Saoene was humming slightly to the Rhythm of Peace, “So you want me to tell you about how being Radiant works?”   
“Yes. It is important Brightness.”   
“Don’t call me that.” She said putting her hand up, “Back home I was seen as being important but I sacrificed that right for freedom so just call me Saoene.” She stood up suddenly and started pacing.

She didn’t speak for a few minutes, “Have you not spoken to Stormblessed?”   
Dalinar hesitated, “Yes, I have but he isn’t being very forthcoming at the moment.”

Saoene smiled at Ilan before turning to face the Blackthorn, “I am sure. I expected that of course. Us Radiants have trust issues. Well, I am sorry Blackthorn but I will not be very helpful either. We swear on certain Ideals to become Radiant among other requirements. We use Stormlight to power our abilities and that is all you need to know.”   
She returned to her desk and took out a drawer a ‘book’ made of metal sheets.

“Ilan please escort the Highprince out, I wish to work and he has kingdom to hold together.”   
Ilan stood up rubbing her nicrosil rings, and pushed open the door that she had installed after people complained about being trapped inside. The door was still made of stone making it difficult to open and close.

“Why won’t you tell me more?” Dalinar asked stoney-faced.

“Blackthorn, do you seriously not understand why I would keep my knowledge to myself? You’re called the Blackthorn because of your warlike nature and you think I would give you tools that can be used for war.” Saoene asked tiredly.

Dalinar looked like he had been slapped but he still spoke again, “I am a different man from back then. I command you to tell me more.”   
Saoene stood up putting down the book and snarled in annoyance. “Blackthorn. I am not one of your Alethi pets who will bend over backwards for you. I am Saoene of Elantris, men bend to me not the other way round. I could break this entire warcamp if I wanted to. Do not order me around, I am the highest authority for the Knights Radiant in hundreds of miles and right now, Kaladin Stormblessed prefers me over you for actually bringing justice to Amaram. Now leave, I have work to do.”   
Ilan pushed Dalinar slightly, he turned and walked out. Saoene stoneshaped a little stone to seal the door. She opened the book and started etching with the Surge of Cohesion into the metal sheet. She started scratching a diagram of a new Aonic Fabrial.

The design was of a rocket with several Aons on it including Aon Aha and Aon Daa.  _ Aon Aha to maintain an atmosphere within the vessel and Aon Daa to provide propulsion. If we integrate a gravity fabrial perhaps we won’t need Aon Daa to make it simpler. Perhaps we need Aon Dao to make sure it survives in a vacuum and reentry. The problem is speed so perhaps a large slider bubble. A large perfect gemstone could store Stormlight and power the bubble. The rocket would move faster with the bubble but feruchemical steel could increase the speed to a great level.  _

Ilan had grown taller and thinner with long hair, nimbleform. She looked more comfortable in nimbleforn compared to Dullform. 

_ I need to focus on the plan, I will go with Dalinar as he leads his armies to Narak. There I will fight Szeth when he arrives. Kaladin will come with us in this chain of events so I'll make sure Moash goes with the army as well. He doesn't have a Shardblade in this chain of events but a knife in the throat is just as effective. I have to deal with Moash, it has been a while since I last did that sort of job.  _

She, the next day, walked through the warcamp drawing attention from the soldiers walking past. She saw Kaladin in the training grounds with several members of Bridge 4 who were glowing with Stormlight. 

Then she died. 

**-Kaladin-**

He was training with his squires when he heard Lopen gasp pointing behind Kaladin. He turned around instantly summoning the Sylspear and saw Saoene with a hole in her chest stumbling forward. The figure behind her dragged a knife across her throat. Saoene dropped to the ground and Kaladin Lashed himself forward dropping straight at the short hooded man. Kaladin knocked the man over grabbing the knife from the man's hand and throwing it away. 

"Who are you?" Kaladin hissed. 

"Don't worry about it." A woman's voice came from behind him. 

Kaladin turned his head and saw Saoene back on her feet but something was wrong with her; her skin grey and was covered in dark splotches. She looked at her hands and frowned. She breathed in Stormlight and her skin glowed returning to its natural state and the cut over her throat healing over.

She grabbed at the man’s head and pulled him to his knees, she pulled at one of his arms and pulled up the sleeve. Kaladin stepped backwards from the man giving her space.

She nodded at something he didn’t see as she let the man’s sleeve go down. She pulled a fabrial out from a pouch. It looked like a pincer and she put it on her safehand like a glove before touching it against the man who flinched.

“The ones who sent this assassin after me know this. I know who you are and you only live because I allow it. Tell your lord that if he tries this again I will put him down like the wild animal he is except this time he won’t be preserved. If you need a reminder of my abilities here.” She announced loudly.   
The man suddenly started screaming and flailing around trying to escape Saoene’s grip but she didn’t let him go as her body glowed with Stormlight. The man froze and went limp in Saoene’s grip, she dropped him and summoned her Blade in her free hand. She sliced at the man’s arm that she had inspected and it cut through the arm falling to the ground.

She picked up the arm and tied it on her back before touching the ground which seemed to suck the dead body of the man into it. 

She nodded to Kaladin before walking away from him silently.  _ What in Damnation was that, how did she kill that man? _

**-Moash-**

Moash stood outside the king’s quarters with spear in hand beside Teft who’s eyes had lightened becoming tan since he got that Shardblade and Plate.  _ Kaladin, you still trust me? No he storming doesn’t that’s why he has Teft with me if I try to assassinate Elhokar then Teft stops being my friend and becomes my executioner. _

Moash frowned but then he heard a scream from down the corridor.

“I will check it out.” Moash said, “Hold the door, but get your Blade ready.”   
Moash walked down the corridor and when he was about 15 feet down the corridor; Moash was knocked into the corridor’s wall by some unseen force. He felt something stab into his gut and another stab. Teft shouted and charged towards them with his Blade ready. Moash finally saw who had stabbed him; they were a short man in dark clothing holding a long knife covered in blood. The man cursed and dashed away jumping through a window, Moash crumpled to the ground looking at the wounds in his stomach. 

Teft ran to the window and looked down, “How? That’s impossible. Moash!”

Teft ran back to him as Moash’s vision started going black. “No! Moash, stay awake!”

**-Saoene-**

She landed at the base of the Pinnacle holding the dagger with Aon Sheo, Aon Eto and Aon Iir. Death. Body, Flesh, Muscle. Strength. Saoene then drew in the air Aon Tia and the appropriate modifiers and she grabbed the Aon which enveloped her. She appeared inside her office and climbed up a ladder to her bedroom, Ilan was already asleep in the bed and Saoene quickly undressed. She slipped under the covers exhausted and wrapped her arm around Ilan.

_ The dagger will make it impossible for Moash to recover without Stormlight, the wound will already be rotting, passing a deadly infection into his bloodstream. He will be dead within the next couple of hours. I just saved Teft’s life a couple of years in advance and protected several other people from him. _

She hugged Ilan closer as she drifted off to sleep dreaming of a city exploding with light around her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Saoene's a lesbian and is in a relationship with Ilan. We have been told that Singers and humans are capable of interbreeding which clearly shows they can both be attracted to each other.


	13. Misdirection

Nearly three weeks had passed since Moash had died the wound rotting him from the inside out. Saoene smiled internally,  _ Captain Kaladin has tripled the guard for Elhokar seeing Moash’s assassination as being a strike at the king, I’ll need to do another strike to make it look like an actual assassination attempt against the king. This time I will avoid killing anyone but now the feast. _

She walked in with Ilan at her side with an illusion attached to her from AonDor making her look like she was in Dullform though Saoene knew she was actually in Nimbleform.  _ Amaram hasn’t been to a feast since I showed him what a real Knight Radiant looks like, or I guess an Honorblade wielder. _

She avoided Wit and his verbal strikes and located where Sadeas’ people were distributing the copies of Dalinar’s visions. She snatched a copy and scanned the first few pages and walked over to Dalinar who looked annoyed.   
“My condolences Highprince.” She said softly.

Dalinar looked at her, “What do you mean?”   
“These are copies of Brightness Navani’s account of your visions. They have been altered to be more insulting but the visions themselves don’t seem adulterated. The condolences are for your god’s death, poor Tanavast.”

“Tanavast?”   
“Your god’s oldest name. I wish I could say that his death was probably painless but it was most likely excruciating and slow. The war that is coming is why the Radiants are returning; I fear that we won’t be ready before it arrives.” Ilan put her hand on Saoene’s shoulder comfortably.

Saoene smiled at Ilan but her expression turned dark as she faced Dalinar again. “I am really just here to taste the feeling of the people around here, I will just take some food then I am going to leave. Goodbye Highprince, I suggest getting prepared for the world to burn around you, goodnight.”   
She walked over to the high table and snatched a bowl of curry from the male section of the table. The nobles looked shocked as she started eating the curry and moving away, Ilan grabbed her own bowl from the ladies table.

Saoene and Ilan returned to the tower and Saoene kissed Ilan before returning to her desk. She carved into thin plates of wood Aons of many kinds until the time where Elhokar would return to the Pinnacle. 

She dressed in dark clothes with a cowl, she then tapped the belt buckle which glowed and changed her appearance to appear like a short man. The belt buckle stopped glowing and she activated Aon Tia appearing inside a small room inside the Pinnacle.

She slipped out, head down and saw the guards. One of them was wearing Shardplate with a Shardblade leaning on the door next to them.  _ Teft. _ Saoene stumbled like a drunk towards the door; Teft grabbed hold of the hilt of the Blade then ordered, “Stop. You shouldn’t be here. Turn around now.”

Saoene tripped over as if her drunkenness had led to her falling over. The guard next to Teft walked up to her with his spear out and then pulled her up by her left arm. She tapped a ring hidden by the illusion and released a concussive wave into him. The guard was flung straight into Teft cracking the Plate. Saoene rushed forward ducking under a swing of Blade and pushed through the door. 

Inside there were 5 or so guards, Saoene smirked,  _ a challenge brilliant.  _ She dodged the first attack and caught the next in her clothes which had stiffened with the Surge of tension. She dragged the spear out of the guard's hands and swung the handle in the way of the next strike. 

A Blade struck through her shoulder blade and she felt that arm go limp dropping the spear.  _ Teft, time to go then, out of the balcony, I'm close anyway.  _

She tapped another ring and she felt her legs become stronger. She burst past the men and leapt out of the balcony. As she fell she rammed the dagger into the wall slowing her descent and tapped the unsealed goldmind earring stud she wore at all times hidden under an illusion. Life returned slowly to her dead arm and by the time she landed on the ground it had returned to life. She removed her illusion and quickly sketched her escape Aon back to the tower. 

Ilan had stripped down and was lying in bed, Saoene smiled and climbed in with her. Ilan pulled her close and they started kissing.

**-Kaladin-**

He stood in the conference chamber of the Pinnacle with Elhokar, Dalinar, Adolin and Saoene with her Parshwoman servant sitting beside her. Teft stood at the door hand on the Shardblade and Lopen holding a spear in one hand and his newly healed hand touching a pouch of glowing spheres.

“Who is this assassin that keeps on getting so close to me?” Elhokar asked nervously.

“I am not sure, your grace but last night he didn’t kill anyone, though Skar was injured the rest of your guards weren’t injured.” Dalinar said.

Teft came over, “It seemed like they didn’t want to injure anyone too badly. He knocked Skar into me hard enough to crack my Shardplate but instead of taking the opportunity to finish me off he just charged through the door.”   
“Well it didn’t stop him from killing Moash.” Kaladin said angrily.

Saoene stretched, “Perhaps, Moash’s death was a strike at a rival organisation?”

Adolin’s head snapped to face Saoene, “What organisation?”   
Saoene seemed to examine the nails on her freehand, “A very dangerous one. They are known as the Diagram.”   
“The Diagram?” Dalinar asked questioningly.

“You won’t understand, they are very dangerous, though well meaning. If you meet a member of the Diagram here is my advice; interrogate them thoroughly and within the same day execute them. Stormblessed, you should have interrogated Graves, he could have provided you with important information. I will find and deal with this assassin. Do you have anything from the assassin?”   
Teft said, “No, I was the only person to injure him and it was with my Blade.”

“Disappointing, I will hunt them down regardless. I think the assassin was most likely related to whoever attacked me. That makes it simple, this is getting annoying for me.”

“What do you mean, Graves?” Kaladin asked,  _ what was Moash involved in. _

“Graves was here to assassinate Elhokar as his group in the Diagram believes that Dalinar would be better as King of Alethkar though that isn’t a commonly held belief within the Diagram.”   
“What diagram is this organisation named after?” Elhokar asked.

“I don’t have much information but the information I do have suggests this ‘Diagram’ was some sort of prediction of the future created by the leader of the organisation and within the organisation they have several interpretations of the predictions.” Saoene said that coldly.

“Predicting the future? That is of the Voidbringers.” Elhokar said in shock.

“Yeah, that’s why the organisation is dangerous. They do want to stop the Voidbringers but the lengths they are willing to go to makes them destructive.” Saoene said, “Anyway I have to go and quickly kill that assassin so I don’t have to worry about your grace.”   
Saoene walked out with the parshwoman right behind her, and the meeting went on not going much further discussing the scouting expedition.

**-Saoene-**

She sketched Aon Nae and using the magnified vision searched the people of the warcamp for the symbol of the Ghostbloods. She finally located one,  _ looks like a lesser member, time to send a real message. _

She activated a simple illusion changing her face and her build. She slipped into the warcamp and walked up behind the Ghostblood who was walking past an alley. She stabbed him in the back and put her hand over his mouth to stop him from screaming. She pulled him into the alley and out of view of the public.

“Tell Mraize this, stay out of my way, next time he sends an assassin I will go on a hunt and his head will be on a pike. I will kill his master properly, I will erase him forever. Then tell him that your wound requires Invested healing to fix.”   
She pulled the knife from his back and slipped into the crowd before he could turn back to her.

_ Easy, now to tell the king that his attempted assassin is dead. _

She returned to the pinnacle under her own face but hiding the knife in her clothes. She walked up to Elhokar’s quarters, Teft letting her past inside. 

She threw the knife onto a table reshaping the metal slightly to break the Aons used to enhance it.

“Dead.” She said casually, “The attempted assassin. He’s dead now and buried.”

Elhokar turned in surprise and frowned.

“Do you think that my uncle would be a better king than me?”   
_ Didn’t expect him to ask me that. Then again, I’m a Radiant at least to him. _

“Yes, but I think you could be a better king than he would be.” She lied.

Elhokar looked at her in surprise at the frankness and relative kindness of her words. She smiled kindly and walked away hearing a quiet sniffle.


	14. And the Storm came

Saoene rode on a horse with Ilan by her side, who was in workform with her dullform illusion over her.  _ The war is coming, these people think the war is coming to an end but this isn’t a war, this is a game. The listeners are about to be slaughtered and the Everstorm is coming, what happened to Ilan in the original timeline? Not important, this is our own timeline, and we will make a better future even if we have to burn this world. _

Shallan Davar rode closer, “You aren’t meant to have brought any parshman servants.”   
Ilan tensed but Saoene kept calm, “Ilan isn’t my servant and I have prepared for when the Voidbringers return in full. Ilan is safe and if anyone tries to lay a hand on her I will treat them like I would anyone who attacks me and mine.”

Ilan brought her horse closer to Saoene and whispered quietly, “Thank you Sao.”

Saoene grabbed Ilan’s hand and rubbed her knuckles before separating again. The days passed slowly until the Stormform patrol was discovered. Saoene grabbed the dead body of the Stormform listener and used her dagger to cut open it’s chest. She tore out the cloudy gem heart making small incisions on the sternum to remove it. She quickly put it into a containment vessel covered with Aons to hold the Stormspren inside.  _ That will be a gift for Ilan when we get a way to properly block Odium’s influence. Maybe we’ll get one of Sja-anat’s true spren to bond with her, or perhaps Nazan will be able to split the powers from the negative mental effects. _

She took a bow and several quivers of arrows from the quartermaster. She carved into blocks of wood complex Aonic equations for the few days left before the Battle of Narak. On the final day before the Battle, Saoene carved into the bow a full Aonic equation with Aon Daa as the centerpiece and etched into a shortsword with a another Aonic equation with Aons similar to the dagger and Aon Aha which would make the sword lighter for swinging without losing it’s actual strike strength.

“Ilan, it is time for getting ready for a fight. Here this sword is for you. I will be using this bow at the start of the battle before summoning my Blade.”   
Ilan took the sword excitedly, humming to the Rhythm of Praise looking at the Aons before pulling the Aon necklace off which made the illusion disappear from her. She grew taller and carapace grew from under her skin becoming bulkier, warform. Ilan attached the sheath to her belt with the sword.

They left the tent and immediately the soldiers around the tent pointed their spears at Ilan in panic. Saoene summoned her Blade and pointed it into the air, she breathed in Stormlight bursting into light.

“Stand down men! Now!” Saoene shouted and the men flinched but one of them stood strong.

“Brightness that’s a Parshendi.”   
“No, Ilan is not a Parshendi. She is a Singer and you will stop pointing those spears at her or I will start pointing my Blade at you.”

The soldiers lowered their spears and the pair walked past the soldiers who dispersed quickly. The rest of the soldiers they passed had clearly already heard about Ilan being in warform.

They walked into the war meeting with the Highprinces and generals.

“Is that a Parshendi? Another one?” asked Highprince Roion.

“No, I am Ilan, I am a Singer. Not a Listener.” Ilan said to the Rhythm of Irritation.

“What?”   
“Listener is what the Parshendi call themselves. Singer is the name of the species, especially the ones that you use as slaves.” Saoene explained. “My brother paid for Ilan then set her free from all of her shackles.”   
“She’s a parshman?”   
“Yes, I am and I am also right in front of you. We’re running low in time, those red eyes are a sign of us being on the dawn of a Desolation.” Ilan said to the Rhythm of Reprimand.

Dalinar finally spoke, “Are you sure?”   
“Yes, red eyes are a sign of the enemy, his spren are infecting the Listeners. We need to destroy them before they can bring the Everstorm upon us. If we do the enemy will be restricted in his assault upon Roshar.” Saoene said.

“So, you believe we can stop the desolation?” Dalinar asked.

“Yes, anything is possible and all we need to do is to deal with that army out there. This is our best shot at winning without a very long and brutal war so I suggest not holding back against them.”

The next day she and Ilan stood with Dalinar, the other Highprinces, Shallan and Kaladin.

“Can you do something against them?”   
“Yes, fight till either they die or we die. Shallan you aren’t a warrior so your orders are to find the Oathgate, it will be some sort of circular platform. Kaladin, you and your squires will help protect Dalinar and break the center ranks of the enemy. Ilan and I will fight with the men, I will start the battle as an archer then I will switch to my Blade. It has been a long time since I’ve been able to show off, a lifetime, it’s time to show the world that I am more dangerous than a hundred thousand lesser men.”

The battle began and Saoene loosed the first arrow from her Aonic bow, the arrow struck a listener and a wave of light burst out twisting the air and destroying the listeners around him. The Song of Storms building still not even her AonDor could make them flinch. Ilan charged with the men, her sword slashing through the Stormforms almost as easily as a Shardblade, rot spreading from the wounds even as they fell to the ground, black fog coming off the body. Saoene threw the bow to the ground and broke it under her foot as she charged, summoning her Honorblade in one hand and pulling out her Aonic dagger in her offhand. She activated her Aonic rings and necklace becoming faster and lighter on her feet but also stronger. Lightning arced through the air and she caught it on her Honorblade channelling it through the dagger back into the Listener whose skin burned but they didn’t fall. She struck the Listener in the throat with her Aonic dagger and black fog started spilling from the wound.    
She sliced through another Stormform with her Blade and breathed in Stormlight causing the Stormforms to collapse into the ground beneath them. Ilan was about to be hit in the back with a bolt of arcing lightning and Saoene threw the dagger in the way of the bolt. The dagger exploded releasing black fog, Ilan jumped to the side as the black fog touched the Stormforms and they started crumbling like old stone.  _ Ruin, the great power of those Aonic equations allowing me to access the power of other Shards as long as I know the Pure Tone of the Shard. _

She gripped the Blade with both hands and fought with as much raw power as possible moving with ease until she saw two glowing figures fighting on the winds, one holding a Blade and the other a spear. Szeth-son-son-Vallano, wielder of Jezrien’s Honorblade, fought Kaladin Stormblessed, Windrunner of the Third Ideal.

_ I need to help, I can’t help here. _

She tore the glove from her safehand revealing a tattoo of an Aonic equation which began to glow. Saoene of Elantris jumped into the air and did not fall as the Storms approached.

**-Jasnah-**

“Hey Jasnah, it’s time they should be here in the next few hours.” Nazan shouted over to her. She had been deep in her research of the gem archive but she knew that she needed to be there to greet the armies.

She stood up and walked over to Nazan who was slightly shorter than her which she hadn’t noticed before they had started courting. He lay his head on her shoulder briefly before yawning and grabbing a bag of metal pieces, he put on dozens of rings, several necklaces and a couple of earrings.  _ It’s rare for me to see him wear so many metalminds, he’s worried. _

He drank a couple of vials of allomantic metals and they walked to the Oathgate Plateau, he Soulcast two seats for her and him.

Jasnah sat down smiling softly before focusing on what they had guessed was the Stormseat Oathgate. She composed her expression to her normal cold and regal one.  _ Strange, how much I trust him given how much I know he hides from me. But, I’ve seen him after those nightmares, he is raw and open and I know he cares about me. More than he probably should. _

Nazan’s expression became cold and calculating as they waited and waited and waited.

Hours passed as they sat in a tense but somehow also a comfortable silence until a flash of light surrounded the Oathgate and an army appeared in Urithiru for the first time in a millennium.

Nazan smiled coldly and shouted, “Welcome! To my great city of myth and legend. Given your sorry state should I assume you failed to prevent this Desolation?”

**-Saoene-**

She joined in the fight with Szeth which seemed to surprise Kaladin as much as it did the Shin man. Szeth Lashed himself away from her and held his Blade in both hands. She kicked on the air and flew to the side of Szeth while Kaladin Lashed after him directly.

She sliced at Szeth who parried it with his Blade before knocking the Sylspear away from him. Szeth fought and retreated clearly trying to circle back as the Highstorm imbued the three of them with Stormlight.

Szeth shouted at them, “You’re trying to convince me! You can’t be one of them!”

“You’ve seen that I am.” Kaladin shouted back.

“The Voidbringers!”   
“Are back.”   
“THEY CAN’T BE. I AM TRUTHLESS!” The assassin panted. “I need not fight you. You are not my target. I have… I have work to do. I obey!”

He Lashed downwards towards the plateau Dalinar was. They chased after him and as they burst through the storm.

The entire army had disappeared and Szeth screamed a few times, “How!”

Kaladin clashed with Szeth before he screamed again, “I know this column! I have seen its like before! They went to the city, didn’t they!”

Szeth fled into the path of the Highstorm and the two of them followed after him. Eventually they struggled through the stormwall and fought until Kaladin had Szeth almost by spearpoint and Saoene readied to pounce on the Honorblade.

Szeth whispered, “It is actually true.”

“Yes”   
“Then I was right all along. I was never Truthless. I could have stopped the murders at any time.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Kaladin said. “But you never had to kill.”   
“My orders-”   
“Excuses! If that was why you murdered, then you’re not the evil man I assumed. You’re a coward instead.”

Kaladin drove his Blade through Szeth’s wrist and Szeth started plummeting. Saoene kicked and flew in the path of the falling Blade catching it in one hand. The Blade cut through her hand but she caught it in her other hand. She started plummeting as the broken Aonic tattoo failed, she breathed in Stormlight and Lashed herself into the air.  _ I am now a Windrunner unbound. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are now past Words of Radiance and going into Oathbringer.  
> So before we go into that book lets quickly evaluate what each of our characters can do.  
> Nazan: Mistborn, Full Feruchemist, Elsecaller, Choicebringer (Surges of Cohesion and Transformation), Awakener (5th Heightening). He has an awakened sword called Nightmare which is weaker than Nightblood. He is also a Bondsmith but is only able to reach the 2nd Ideal at least for the time being. Has created his own Light.  
> Ilan: Has a bunch of unsealed metalminds for mental speed and changing her form. Has an Aonic Blade which rots the body of those it hits.  
> Saoene: Elantrian, wielder of Talenel and Jezrien's Honorblades so is an Unbound Windrunner and Stoneward.  
> We will learn more about what Choicebringers can do during Oathbringer.


	15. New Arrivals

**-Nazan-**

He stroked the silver curved Blade -Honorblade of Jezrien-  _ While I wield this I am an unbound Windrunner. I am bored, things are moving slowly, perhaps I should have a little bit of fun, I will go to the theater and play some music. _

He walked to the theater from his room and about halfway there Dalinar Kholin stepped beside Nazan. The glowing red ribbons of light appeared around Nazan like an honour guard, his Enlightened windspren protectors,  _ there’s more of them than normal, could be because of the Honorblade, it’s of Jezrien, the Herald of the Windrunners _

“What are those spren? They look like windspren… but… wrong.”   
“They are windspren, just… different… enlightened… the children of my friend. A loyal friend that I trust greatly. These windspren guard me in the Physical Realm and Shadesmar. My friend is protective.” said Nazan, Soulcasting metal strings from the air and then the rest of the electric guitar.

He smiled looking at it,  _ so long, must be more than three centuries, I will be out of practice but I have been practicing with a primitive acoustic guitar so I should be able to get back to my old skill level. _

Dalinar looked at it in confusion, “What is that? A musical instrument of some sort?”   
Nazan smirked, “This is a real instrument, I hadn’t wanted to Soulcast it into existence until I was certain it would work out. I haven’t seen this instrument in a very, very long time.”

Dalinar shook his head, “What friend are you talking about?”   
“You aren’t ready to know them. I’ll get around to introducing you two.” 

Nazan walked into the theater and onto the stage. He Soulcast a battery powered amplifier from the air once again. He started playing a simple melody which he let himself play without thinking. The melody became mournful as flashes of the past came to him.

_ My old world _

_ My old family _

_ My old life _

_ My new family _

_ The past is dead, time to move on, time to grieve and let it all go. Let the nightmares leave and live anew. I can’t go back and… even if I could… I wouldn't. I have responsibilities to this new world and a new family. I will make this world great but first I must save it. _

He played for hours just thinking with the flow of the melody that came from him, his perfect pitch helping him keep the melody accurate to his mood. The melody slowly grew more hopeful until it had reached the climax. He looked up and noticed that a crowd had formed to listen, including Jasnah surprisingly. He Soulcast the amp into air again and formed a case for the guitar around it. He put the case onto his back and walked over to Jasnah smiling.

“Hey Jasnah, I assume my spanreed is flashing?”   
“Yes, a while ago, I got distracted listening to your music. There is going to be a meeting soon with the other Radiants and my mother.”

He smiled, “Saoene is probably busy on new weapon designs. I am representing my organisation it seems. I will have Sja handle the spanreed.”   
“ _ Sja can you check on the spanreed. I trust you with handling it, cipher 13.” _ _   
_ _ “Of course, go to that meeting, according to the information you gave me it shall be relatively important. _ ”   
He walked with Jasnah to the meeting, he lounged with his feet up. He spent a large part of the meeting only listening, not joining in until Jasnah mentioned finding the Heralds.

“Yes. The answer is obvious. We need to find the Heralds.”   
Kaladin nodded in agreement.

“Then,” Jasnah added, “We need to kill them.”   
“What?” Kaladin demanded. “Woman, are you insane?”   
“The Stormfather laid it out,” Jasnah said, unperturbed. “The Heralds made a pact. When they died, their souls traveled to Damnation and trapped the spirits of the Voidbringers, preventing them from returning.”   
“It won’t work.” Nazan said quietly.

Jasnah turned to him, “What? Why won’t it work?”   
“Jasnah, you haven’t seen the Heralds, they aren’t just broken they are obliterated. All that’s left are shells, they would barely last a day in their current conditions. Even Talenel is broken, the Oathpact is dead.” Nazan said darkly, “There is only one way to win this war and that is to defeat Odium everything else is a distraction. I have seen this before, dark gods can’t just be delayed, they must be led to the edge of their ultimate victory and when they are confident in their victory you break them. Ruin them. Well at least that was how we did it last time, back home. This time you need to make every step Rayse takes towards his victory cost him a thousand fold so he will make a deal with you, a contest could work or perhaps…”

Dalinar prodded, “Perhaps what?”   
“I have an idea but it is incredibly dangerous, the risk is greater but the reward could be incredible. The idea cannot be said aloud if Odium or his spren are listening; they can’t be allowed to know my plan or they might turn it around on us. My sister and I have been working on weapons to turn this war around but I cannot allow for them to be duplicated without us.”   
“Why?” Kaladin asked, curious.

“Simple, I don’t want my inventions to be used for any war I don’t agree with so I will make them reliant on my organisation.”   
“ _ Speaking of, they are coming with the next Oathgate transfer. _ ”   
The meeting went on a pause during which Jasnah spoke to Shallan.

“That was an invitation.” Jasnah said, “to talk to me.”   
Shallan nodded, Nazan sighed, “Jasnah, don’t worry I know what she’s hiding and it is none of our business unless she forgets herself. Yes, Shallan I do know . Don’t fear child, just remember who you are. It’s an important lesson to know, the most valuable one I have ever learnt. If you forget you are lost, the faces you wear are just masks, ones Awakened by your mind and will submit if you understand them. Oh tell that hunter you’ve been studying these precise words, ‘Storm off, I will Ruin them if they push me.’ You will remember that right?”

Shallan nodded, clearly panicked. Nazan sat back at the meeting table.  _ I've missed my team over the last few years, I need to grow our tree around Urithiru even more. _

He didn’t speak for the rest of the meeting, they were used to him just speaking briefly but intensely before relaxing. After the meeting he grinned and jogged off towards his section of the tower which Sja would have led the members of Yggdrasil to for him.

He arrived and saw a few dozen people of varying skin colours carrying their things into his section with the Enlightened windspren acting as guides for them. When they saw him most of them bowed their heads in respect before returning to their moving in. Three of them came to him; two of them had dark skin though they were lighter than Nazan himself and the other had pale skin which had tanned slightly.

One of them had a large white bird on his shoulder and a long rope tied around his waist, his clothes seemed tight on him and moved with him strangely. 

“Hello boss, don’t worry the security here will be top of the line in the next few days.” Third of the Dark said.   
“Business already, Dark? I haven’t seen you in years.”   
Nazan wrapped him in a quick bearhug before turning to the JinDo woman, she had a crossbow on her back and a shortsword sheathed on her waist, “Good to see you boss, my men will be ready for guarding this base along with you and Sao.”   
“Thank you, Asira. Missed you since I last saw you lot.”

She hugged him before walking off to speak to a small group of tall men and women with swords and armour on. The last man was in fine clothing and was clearly of noble heritage on Scadrial.

“Nazan, how is Sao and your new allies?” He said, putting out his hand which Nazan shook.

“Very good, Marius. Tell me the truth, how is everyone in Yggdrasil doing?” Nazan asked softly.

“Honestly, they are doing quite well, just a bit frustrated as we haven’t had much to do recently, we have been worried about you and Sao but on the way here, the team has been getting excited.”   
“Good, good, good. Well you know your job slip into court life for us.”   
Marius nodded and Nazan left feeling lighter.  _ Yggdrasil is here, I will be able to make large moves. Not much should have changed so a couple dozen pewterarms, another dozen tineyes, six or seven coinshots, a few leechers and a variety of ferrings from Scadrial. A large group of lesser Awakeners from Nalthis, they should have brought with them the coffins of our army, I will check later. _

He found Jasnah studying one of the transcriptions they made from the gems. He sat down beside her and pulled over a different transcription to start researching beside her.

“Who are those people, who have moved into your section of the tower?” 

“They are my organisation, Yggdrasil, we span the worlds of the Cosmere hence the name.”   
“What does Yggdrasil mean precisely?”   
Nazan hesitated, “It means world tree. Each world hangs on a branch like a leaf on a tree. Well, it’s a myth just one I like the imagery of. I call it mine but that’s not accurate. I just founded it and lead it but if the majority of Yggdrasil decided that I wasn’t worthy then I would no longer be in charge.”   
“A republic?”

“Yes, we are all equals, I make decisions based on what my organisation wants and if a plan of action is critical I must discuss it with the whole of my organisation.”

“Am I able to join without abandoning my current positions in the world?” Jasnah asked.

“Of course but if you are making a decision that will affect our people you will be expected to discuss it with us. Oh and you should move into our section, we will be able to provide protection for you. So, do you want to join?”   
“Yes, Nazan, is there any ceremony or something.”   
“It’s very simple, you have to be introduced to all of the higher ranking members. Do you want to be introduced now?” 

Jasnah nodded and they left her study. When they got to the Yggdrasil section, new stone statues of soldiers stood in the corridor. There were dozens of statues along the whole corridor, as they walked in the spears crossed in front of them. Jasnah yelped and jumped backwards.

He whispered towards the statues, “Heimdall, remember me as authority, Heimdall.”

The stone soldiers pulled their spears out of the way and he led Jasnah through the corridor to the meeting room in the section.

“Jasnah Kholin, welcome to Yggdrasil.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was very unexpected. I hadn't planned any of it except for the meeting that Jasnah advocated for killing a Herald.  
> Yggdrasil as an organisation wasn't something I had really planned. I had originally an idea of Nazan having a few worldhopper friends but then I realised that it doesn't make much sense for him not to have constructed an organisation in the 300 years he has been in the Cosmere. Oh and I needed a large organisation for certain future events.  
> By the way a lot of the members are going to offscreen become squires to Nazan.


	16. Reconstruction

Nazan stood with a group of scholars, one eye on the door.

“Jasnah!” Shallan said, “The doorway. Look!”   
Nazan tapped steel and pewter slightly and stepped beside Jasnah and focused on the doorway,  _ the filth. Amaram. _ He wore Sadeas’ colours, forest green and white and he strode towards Jasnah confidently.

“Jasnah,” he said when he drew close. “I was told I could find you here.”

“Remind me to find whoever told you,” Jasnah said, “and have them hanged.”

Nazan grew larger as his muscles bulged larger, compounded gold and burned pewter.

Amaram stiffened. “Could we speak together more privately, just for a moment?”   
“I think not.”   
“We need to discuss your-”   
“Amaram, Brightness Jasnah made it very clear that she would rather you leave her alone and as a fellow member of the Order of Elsecallers, I must insist you leave. Or I could make a point with you. You aren’t even Radiant, you don’t even have any Shards because you lost the ones you stole to my sister. Even though she was holding back.”   
“How dare you.” He hissed grabbing the hilt of his sword.

Nazan summoned Jezrien’s Blade pointing it at Amaram’s chest, “I suggest not trying that. Remember, even before I was a Radiant I could have easily torn you apart even if you were still a full Shardbearer. Now. Back. Off.”   
Two of Nazan’s bodyguards both of who were pewterarms stepped closer both of whom pulled a club out clearly ready to take Amaram down if he tried to attack Nazan. Amaram stepped backward and huffed before leaving. The bodyguards relaxed and Nazan laughed as the Honorblade dissipated into mist.

The scholars in the room relaxed slightly though they were clearly still tense.

“Nazan, I didn’t need your help.” Jasnah said irritated.

“Jasnah, I obviously know that, but you are part of Yggdrasil now. We protect our own so you don’t have to rely on yourself. Anyway, Saoene has requested to be the one to play with Amaram so technically you aren’t allowed to deal with him.” Nazan said holding a sphere of N-Light in his hand. 

A few days later a highstorm came, he knew that…  _ Dalinar is in a vision with Gawx and Odium will come. Time for my move. _

He looked through Shadesmar at Dalinar and started compounding duralumin for spiritual Connection. He formed the Connection with Dalinar and he appeared in a vision. He stood behind a rock near Feverstone Keep and flared copper holding the cloud around him.

He glanced around the rock and saw an old man in white and gold holding a golden scepter. He saw Dalinar fall to his knees.

“I know you,” he whispered. “You’re… you’re Him. God.”   
“Yes,” the man said.

“Where have you been?” Dalinar said.

“I’ve always been here,” Rayse said. “Always with you, Dalinar. Oh, I’ve watched you for a long, long time.”   
“Here? You’re… not the Almighty, are you?”   
“Honor? No, he truly is dead, as you’ve been told.” Rayse’s smile deepened, genuine and kindly. “I’m the other one, Dailnar. They call me Odium.”

_ What is that monster? He feels like that… No. Nazan. Calm down. He isn’t like that. Anyway he can’t touch you. Focus. _

“What do you know of us three?” Odium asked.  _ Irrelevant. _

Odium turned to Dalinar sharply and asked quietly, “Is that an offer to release me from my bonds, coming from the man holding the remnants of Honor’s name and power?”   
Dalinar said firmly, “No,”

Nazan ignored the rest of the conversation until Odium showed Nazan his true self. Nazan leapt out and touched Odium’s puppet,  **_DESTROY CONNECTION._ **

He felt… God… divinity… hatred pushing back until he felt the Connection dissipating for the time being.

Odium froze and dissolved out of existence. Dalinar jumped to his feet in confusion. Nazan’s head span as the Compounded duralumin burned up, he dropped to his knees. Dalinar stepped over to him and grabbed him by his shoulder.

“Soldier, how did you get here?”

“I cheated and now I want to throw up. I need a good burger, it's been years.”

“What’s a burger?” Lift said, her head popping up from behind some nearby rocks.   
“Hello Lift and a burger is a type of good food from where I’m from. I should try to recreate it, if I get to see you in the flesh I will give you one.” Nazan said, lying back.

“Ooh that sounds nice but anyway. That guy is creepy.” She said excitedly, “Seriously. All wrinkly and ‘Hey, want some sweets?’ and ‘Oh, listen to this boring story.’ I’m on to them. They can act nice all they want, but nobody gets old without ruining a whole buncha lives.”

She climbed over the rocks. She wore fine Azish clothing, colourful patterns on robes, a thick overcoat and cap. “Even as old people go, that one was extra creepy,” she said softly. “What was that thing, tight-butt? Didn't smell like a real person.”

“They call it Odium,” Dalinar said, exhausted. “And it is what we fight.”   
“Huh. Compared to that, you’re nothing. This guy here isn’t but he’s still way out of that thing’s league.”   
“Thank you?”   
Lift nodded, as if it were a compliment. “I’ll talk to Gawx. You got good food at that tower city of yours?”   
“We can prepare some for you.”

“Yeah, I don’t care what you prepare. What do you eat? Is it good?”   
“...Yes?”

“Not military rations or some such nonsense, right?”   
“Not usually.”   
“Great.” She looked at the place where Odium had vanished, then shivered visibly. “We’ll visit.” She paused, then poked him in the arm. “Don’t tell Gawx about that Odium thing, okay? He’s got too many old people to worry about already.”   
Dalinar nodded and Lift vanished, the vision faded away.

Nazan woke up in his room and shook himself properly awake. He left and intentionally put himself near Dalinar who came up to him.

“How did you do that Nazan?” Dalinar asked seriously.

“It wasn’t that hard, just simple manipulation of Connection. You could probably do the same when you master your abilities. Anyway I have work to do, goodbye Bondsmith.”

A few days later, Nazan walked into the Oathgate control building with Asira and a handful of other guards -2 coinshots, 2 pewterarms and a leecher- to go to Thaylen City. He breathed in a little N-Light as Malata sent the group to the City.  _ Thankfully the Light sits perfectly until used in me, identical Intent allows it to be held forever. _

Thaylen City looked… Ruined. He didn’t speak just focused on the ruined city and followed on the tour until he shook himself from the distraction.

“Queen Fen, I am a very skilled Soulcaster. Would you like my help on reconstructing your docks and ships?”   
She looked surprised, “Wouldn’t you need builders to do so?”   
“Your Majesty those sort of weaknesses are limited to the fabrial. I am a Surgebinder, I can Soulcast like you can move your fingers. I will Soulcast the air itself, I’m not a healer but I can heal this city though in return I would like to own one of the ships I make. Is that alright?”   
_ I waited for after she accepted Taravangian’s help so now she feels a little more comfortable. _

“Perhaps.”

_ Or not. I want a ship to go to Akinah before Rysn. I need that Dawnshard under the control of Yggdrasil. _

After Dalinar did his whole fighting Fen’s son thing and repairing the temple. Queen Fen came over to him and said loudly, “Yes, Radiant Nazan I accept your offer to repair the docks and replacing our lost ships in exchange for a ship of your own.”   
Nazan nodded and said, “Should I start today, Your Majesty?”   
Fen said, “Yes, if you have nothing else to do today.”

Nazan walked downwards towards the docks, his men coming with him.

“Asira, do you agree with this move?”   
Asira rubbed her chin in thought, “Yes boss, it’s agreed that this is our best shot at establishing ourselves as trustworthy and reputable here. We need a way to get that… item.”

She laid her hand on her shortsword as she saw Thaylens look towards them. The rest of his guard looked around ready for any attacks. Nazan reached the docks which were in complete ruin.

He breathed in all of the N-Light from his spheres,  _ too much N-Light and it would start being wasted on dealing with stopping me from needing food and water. _ He began to peer into Shadesmar and he touched the spheres of air and pushed his will upon them. In the Physical Realm the air started compressing pulling them towards the new docks. He tapped iron increasing his weight steadying himself while the bodyguards stood backwards from the pull. His N-Light puffed out so he breathed in Stormlight and started tapping his nicrosilminds to access more Stormlight. His Soulcasting finished and the air stopped filling back in. He sat down on the fresh docks as a crowd started surrounding the newly constructed docks.

_ I will need plenty more Stormlight to finish this. The N-Light will be replaced soon enough but this is difficult. I’ll bring in a small team of squires to construct ships using Soulcasting then I will pull my men back to Urithiru under the pretense of them being needed for other jobs and training. Yggdrasill will be safe when the battle here begins then they will be part of the reinforcements. _

_ I won’t get much out of this for several months but I’ve lived for centuries I can cope with a delay in my asset collection, anyway I need that delay to finish working on that design, my ship will make all of the other ships seem pathetic. A combination of fabrials and industrial technology could turn it into an unstoppable machine. _

_ Unsinkable. _

_ The Titanic, that should be the name of it as least as a joke. _


	17. Kholinar

Nazan was falling with two pewterarms beside him towards Kholinar, a hidden Enlightened mistspren Connected to a single N-Light sphere.  _ Choicebringers have unique abilities for any Radiant. They can Enlighten spren using Voidlight or my N-Light and manipulate them in certain ways. The mistspren is able to remain intelligent while Connected to me or others. _

“ _ Father, you aren’t manipulating me just… showing me new ways. _ ” A quiet, wispy voice projected into his mind.   
“ _ You’re right, Urim. I would like you to stay with Shallan, hide within the lesser spren that follow her. If she is overwhelmed by the Unmade, save her no matter what. I can bring you back later but Shallan is of the Physical if she dies, she dies. _ ”   
“ _ Yes Father. I will sustain my mind by draining Stormlight from her spheres. _ ”   
Nazan felt Urim slip away entering Shadesmar partially. When they got close to Kholinar, Nazan started flaring tin and scanned the city. A darkness was over the Palace Complex and something else was inside it.  _ I recognise that feeling… what is it? Not important, I am far too dangerous for whatever this is. _

He and Kaladin returned to the group after scouting from the sky. The subsequent conversation led to them dropping away from the city and hiking the rest of the way. They camped outside till morning and walked towards one of the side doors into the city. Nazan started storing a little age into his tiny atiummind making himself look like he was in his late thirties.

“How do you do that?” Adolin asked him.

“It’s just a trick, a sleight of hand. The people who would recognise me would assume I would look like my normal self. The rest of my team haven’t been around these parts long enough to be recognised.”

They continued but before they reached the front of the crowd, Nazan spoke softly to Elhokar, “If they ask for fighting men, I’ll go with my team. I need to get a look at the soldiers of this city.”   
Elhokar nodded slightly before continuing. Elhokar imperiously marched forward and barked at people to get out of his way.

“I demand entry,” Elhokar said, reaching the front of the crowd- which had swelled to some fifty or sixty people, with more steadily arriving. 

The small group of guards looked over Elhokar, and their captain spoke. “How many fighting men can you provide for the city defence?”

“One,” Elhokar snapped. “They are my personal guard and can’t give any more.”

_ I haven’t seen Vivena in a while, not since Hallandren. I am kind of excited to see the Blade of hers. Oh I should listen. _

“I serve Highmarshal Azure, of the Wall Guard.”   
“Oh Azure, I remember Azure it’s been some time. You will let my Brightlady and her personal guard into the city or you can tell your superior that you didn’t let an old friend in.”

“Who are you to the Highmarshal.”   
“I saved Azure’s life a few years ago and gave them some help. Tell Azure that I know where Warbreaker is and I can bet you that the Highmarshal will be very angry that you sent us away.”

The guards looked frozen in shock for a few moments before the Fused attacked and everyone forced their way into the city except for Nazan who jumped into action with a spear in his hand. A Heavenly One dove down at him and he tapped a little steel moving quickly inside the Fused’s reach and grabbed hold of him then tapped iron and flared pewter and copper. He forced the Fused to the ground under his weight, then he started to fall up still holding the Fused. Nazan pulled a dagger out as they started to fall above the Kholinar Wall and pushed it into the Fused’s gemheart. It died instantly and before gravity had a chance to assert itself Nazan dropped his grip and kicked it away from him midair.

He touched his rope belt and Commanded, “ **Slow my fall as if you were me.** ”

The rope untied itself in an instant dropping to it’s full size and wrapped a part of itself to the Windblade nearby, it held him as he fell slowing it till he reached the ground at a casual pace.

The soldiers around him looked shocked, “Relax, it wasn’t that hard. Now time for us to return properly to the wall. Agreed?”

He spoke quietly a command returning his Breaths from the rope back to himself. He walked with them quietly up into the barracks, looking around with suspicion. _ I was too dramatic there, I should have just fought like a good fighter instead of a Radiant, even though I didn’t use any Surges they could easily assume so. But I like making impressions and anyway I will get to see Vivenna again it has been some time since I last saw her. _

“So… you said you knew the Highmarshal, what do you know of Azure?” asked one of the squad members.

“I know that she’s a woman who is higher ranked than almost everyone in this city. She has a Shardblade that she can’t dismiss and so on and so forth.”

The squad looked at him with complete shock at his significant amount of knowledge.

“And how do you know all that?” He heard from behind him.

He turned his head and saw a shortish woman with a couple of scars on her face in a uniform with an azure cloak. A side sword with a silver hilt on her belt.

“Hey, it's me Nazan been awhile hasn’t it, ‘Azure’.”   
Her eyes went comically wide as she put her hand on the hilt of her sword. She hissed at him, “How are you here? Are you hunting me?”   
“No V of course not. You are here because you’re hunting Warbreaker and the sword but I’m here on other business. Though when I heard you were here I just had to come and say hello.”   
Her hand dropped from the hilt of her sword, “At ease men.”   
At this the soldiers dropped back to their seats relaxed and she sat down beside Nazan. The other soldiers from the table all excused themselves for various reasons within a couple of minutes.

“These lot are subtle, aren’t they Vivenna?” He asked softly.

“Why are you here, Nazan?” Azure asked.

“The world is coming to an end.”   
“Yeah and?”   
“I can profit from the end of the world and also I made it my job a while ago to try and save every world I can.”   
“Did you expect this?”   
“Of course everyone knew it was coming for years especially in Shadesmar. I am here to do some work on saving the world. Anyway V I need all of the information about what is going on in the city you have. Specifically, any strange spren in the city.”   
“Well, there have been strange rumours of murders in the city by spren. Well, that’s a rumour I’ve heard but I haven’t had the chance to investigate it.”

“Sounds like it’s my job. I will need to investigate it myself but before that lets have stew together.”   
He ate stew with Vivenna and the squad, talking and laughing until it was their shift. 

“Goodbye squad, I’ve got my own work to do.” He said and the rest of the squad said their own goodbyes.

He walked onto the streets of Kholinar. He saw a member of the Cult of Moments wearing clothing that looked like a more normal spren.  _ Good, the first ripple effect, the corrupted spren of Sja-anat aren’t here and being worshipped. _

The cultist was in red wispy clothes and was moaning strangely. Nazan slipped into an alleyway and tapped his age becoming seemingly eleven years old. His clothes tightened on their own to make them seem fitted to his size. He waited for the cultist to pass by the alley entrance before jumping out and slicing both of his achilles tendons. The cultist hit the ground and Nazan jumped on his back and stabbed him again tearing a small pouch of spheres from the inside of his clothes. People panicked around him as he sprinted through the alleyway aging back to his normal self. His clothes grew to fit him again and started searching for Adolin’s tailor.  _ Good, the test is underway. _

He walked in the city tapping tin for hearing, his head was down and shoulders tensed. Nazan could hear the hustle and bustle of a decaying city filled with terrified and broken people. Nazan wandered for a while before he heard Adolin’s voice inside a building nearby.

He walked inside, surprising everyone inside. He explained a few things from the day so far. The next day they heard of a brutal murder.

_ I was right, she’s alive and back. Re-Shephir, the Midnight Mother is alive and active, things are changing by a large degree. We will need to deal with both her and Ashertmarn. There could be other factors involved in the city, this is dangerous. _

He activated his spanreed while burning copper. ‘ _ Hello Jasnah. It turns out there is another Unmade here. Re-Shephir is in the city and active, we’re in danger. I’m not certain how things are going to go here but I will get out of here with Adolin, Shallan and Elhokar. The pieces I’ve moved should protect Elhokar. _ ’

‘ _ Why him specifically? _ ’

‘ _ Did I forget to tell you? In the original course of events he would have died here but I have already got his murderer removed from the board. Anyway I can’t speak any longer. Love you Jasnah. _ ’

‘ _ Thank you for doing what you can to protect Elhokar even though you don’t like him, love you too Nazan. _ ’   
‘ _ It would be a complete betrayal of you if I didn’t do everything I could to protect your family. _ ’

Nazan smiled as the spanreed dropped and he deactivated the spanreed.  _ Time to plan a fight against two ancient spinters of the god of hatred. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm planning to make a prequel for this work later after I've reached the end of the Rosharan section of Nazan's life. The prequel will go from the end of Hero of Ages all the way through Warbreaker.  
> Oh yeah, Kholinar's situation has a few major differences; no Sja-anat or corrupted spren and instead we have Re-Shephir and her Midnight Essences.


	18. Aesudan and the Heart of the Revel

“Who is this Highmarshal Azure?” Elhokar asked.

Nazan stretched his arms, “She’s dangerous, but is on our side.”   
“She?” Adolin asked.

“Yeah, she’s not from around here and is currently doing what she can to protect this city.”

“Where is she from?”

“Far far away. Anyway, there are two Unmade in the city.”   
“TWO UNMADE!” Shallan shouted in surprise.

“Yeah, Ashertmarn the Heart of the Revel and Re-Shephir the Midnight Mother. The Heart of the Revel is the one messing with people’s minds around the Palace. The Midnight Mother is definitely here.”   
“How do you know the Midnight Mother is here?” Shallan asked.

“There was a murder a couple of days ago and yesterday another murder happened that was completely identical to it. From what I’ve heard the witnesses saw a black and oily creature commit the murder. That means Re-Shephir is definitely in the city, I’m going to search for her, it will be annoying.”

“So that thing I saw on the Oathgate Platform it looked like an oily monster so was that the Midnight Mother?”   
“Probably. According to my research, a Lightweaver managed to hurt Re-Shephir in the past so Shallan, you should deal with her. I will deal with the Heart of the Revel, I have a trick for dealing with it.” He said, pulling out a small metal cube, “Kaladin, you should insert yourself into the Wall Guard, bring them into an alliance with us. Convince Azure. She’s an important individual to have on our side.”

He flicked the switch on the side and put the cube on the table then burned bronze. No pulses, the rhythms of Roshar invisible. He nodded slightly and flicked the switch again stopping the burning of bronze.

_ Good, it works. That metal was difficult to synthesise without Soulcasting. _

A week and a bit later, Kaladin had joined the Wall Guard and pulled them into taking the Palace. They had made the plan for taking the Oathgate and the Palace; Shallan would lead a strike force to attack Re-Shephir, Nazan would take care of the Heart of the Revel and then would join Elhokar, Kaladin and the other Windrunners in getting Gavinor Kholin out.

He talked to the ardent tasked with sending messages to Urithiru, “Here, flick this switch while using the spanreed, it should hide you. If you get discovered, flick this switch and drop it into water or the Voidbringers will gain a huge advantage for the war.”   
“Yes, Brightlord Radiant.”   
“Good.”

The Wall Guard marched towards the Palace and the bells started to ring.  _ The fall of Kholinar has begun, time to scare the Unmade. _ As they reached the Palace, they saw the thunderclast bringing down a tower. He summoned his Akilahblade as a short sword and the forces pushed through the main doors into the main entry. The Palace Guard stood in the entryway and the fighting began. Nazan sliced through the nearest foes with his Blade and he saw in the Ballroom an enormous black heart,  _ disgusting thing, I need to get to it and infuse it with N-Light, really make it run. _

He burned pewter and jumped over the soldiers heads’ with his guards by his side. He charged at the Heart and touched it…

_ ‘Passion’ _

_ ‘Hatred’ _

_ ‘Fear’ _

_ ‘Hatred’ _

_ ‘Hunger’ _

_ ‘Hatred’ _

_ ‘Lust’ _

_ ‘Hatred’ _

_ ‘Hatred’ _

_ ‘Hatred’ _

_ ‘Hatred’ _

_ ‘Hatred’ _

_ ‘Give it all to me. Give me your passion, your hunger, your longing, your loss. Surrender it. You are what you feel.’ _

He could feel himself being swept along by the power of the Heart of the Revel, his hatred burning hotter…

and hotter

and hotter

and hotter

and hotter

‘ _ Nazan _ ’ A feminine voice appeared in his mind.

_ Who is that? I feel like I know that voice. _

‘ _ Nazan _ ’

_ I know you.  _

_ You are Sja-anat, holder of my secrets. _

‘ _ Nazan, you are more than this. It’s Ashertmarn rioting your emotions. We are behind you, breathe in your Light and push it back. _ ’

His mind snapped back into place and BREATHED. The Heart of the Revel screamed in his mind and he could see again, the Heart’s flesh smoking and the veins starting to glow with a silver light. The Heart smoked more and more, glowing brighter and brighter until it suddenly turned into sludge melting away.

_ Good, it’s scared now. _

He pushed his N-Light back into the spheres on his belt. He stood back up,  _ when did I start kneeling? _ Elhokar and Kaladin joined him with a small force of soldiers. They climbed the stairs to the upper floors. They followed the singing of the queen and Nazan started burning copper, tin, pewter and steel. They entered the room and saw the queen sitting at a vanity beside the wall. She was young with long dark hair which she was coming, humming to a song.

“Aesudan?” Elhokar asked.

She looked away from the mirror, then smiled broadly. She had a narrow face with deep red lips. She rose from the seat and glided to him.

_ That… That isn’t right, she isn’t moving right, she’s moving too easily. Oh, I have a bad feeling about this. _

“Husband! So it was you I heard. You have returned at last? Victorious over our enemies, your father avenged?”   
“Yes,” Elhokar said, frowning. He moved to step toward her, but Kaladin grabbed him by the shoulder and held him back.

The queen focused on Kaladin. “New bodyguard, dear one? Far too scruffy; you should have consulted me. You have an image to maintain.”   
“Where is Gav, Aesudan? Where is my son?”   
“He’s playing with friends.”   
Elhokar looked to Kaladin, and gestured to the side with his chin. Nazan saw something in the queen’s eyes, red specks glowing slightly, regular humans wouldn’t see it but to his tin enhanced vision it was obvious.  _ Has she already bonded something fully? _

“What have you bonded?” Nazan asked suddenly.

“What do you mean?” She asked sweetly but the red specks in her eyes grew more numerous.

“Your eyes have glowing red in them. Have you bonded a voidspren?”   
“Ah. You’re him. I was warned of you.”   
He flinched, “Warned of me? By who?”   
“By a spren, an ancient one.” Her eyes suddenly flared red and a black smoke blew around her by an unseen wind.

Nazan fell into the ground as he summoned Akilah dropping her immediately back into mist. When he was waist deep the ground solidified again, trapping his body, Aesudan’s skin started hardening like carapace with glowing amethyst piercing from the carapace. Elhokar was hit across the room by a table falling like it had been Lashed.

“Elhokar, I’ve done what your father could not. Oh, he found one of the ancient spren but he could never discover how to bond it. But I, I have solved the riddle.”

She walked towards Elhokar when a spear flashed in front of her, she slid backwards with no friction. Nazan summoned Jezrien’s Blade and in a flash cut his lower body twice. Using his arms he pushed the remaining part of his body upwards and he breathed in some Stormlight from the sphere lamps in the room. He fully regenerated and stood up again, Kaladin and Aesudan fought briefly but Kaladin was forced to guard both Elhokar and Gavinor and was getting cuts from Aesudan’s amethysts. Nazan tapped pewter and kicked Aesudan from behind across the room.

“KALADIN RUN GET THEM OUT OF HERE!” Nazan shouted as Aesudan stood back up.

_ I don’t know what happened to my N-Light spheres, probably broken and most of my metalminds are gone. The metals I swallowed are gone as well. I have very little resources right now but I said I would protect Elhokar, I will not fail. _

Kaladin nodded and pulled Elhokar to his feet, handing Gavinor to him. They retreated from the room and Nazan focused on Aesudan who attacked once more. He summoned his Akilahblade and fought Aesudan who was using the amethysts to redirect the Blade. Anytime that the amethysts struck his skin his skin rotted slightly and he had to tap his goldminds to keep him from decaying to dust. The ground became liquid and as he started to fall, he tapped steel and grabbed at Aesudan pulling her down with him. They fell on the pathway to the Monastery Dais right in front of Elhokar, Kaladin and the squad. Aesuadan was on her feet at the same moment as Nazan and broke a piece of rock off the ground like it was nothing. She threw it at Nazan forcing him to duck and roll from it.

Fused dropped in front of Nazan forcing him to fight them and he saw Kaladin fighting Aesudan with his Sylblade and clearly losing. Nazan knocked the Fused away and went in to attack Aesudan again but the Fused kept getting in the way.

Nazan put his Blade through the last Fused and saw Aesudan grab Elhokar, Kaladin on the ground healing, too slowly. Nazan rushed at Aesudan and heard Elhokar saying, “Life… before… death. Strength… before… weakness. Journey… before…”    
Elhokar as he said the final word, his skull cracked and shattered.  _ NO!!! I, I failed. I failed her. I failed Jasnah. _

He stood frozen and in that moment something pushed him. He fell off the Monastery Dais, a spear going through his chest.

He tapped his nicrosilmind for stormlight and Soulcast the air into a rope, “ **Up and catch my fall, pull me up.** ”

He felt a few hundred Breaths leave him and enter the rope which immediately went taut and his fall was immediately slowed and quickly he was pulled upwards back onto the Oathgate Platform. The fighting had stopped and Re-Shephir wasn’t around the Control building, The team had pushed inside the building and civilians were climbing onto the platform.

He ran into the building and he felt something… 

_ Hatred _

_ Rage _

_ Despair _

_ Hatred _

_ Rage _

_ Despair _

_ Hatred _

_ Rage _

_ Despair _

“ _ Hello Nazan. _ ” Odium’s voice appeared in his mind, “ _ This pain you feel, I can take it from you. _ ”   
Flashes of his first death hit him.

Flashes of his new parents deaths

Flashes of the koloss pushing it’s fingers into his body.

“ _ Just let me in and this can be taken from you. _ ”   
_ No, I… I won’t … let… let you in. _

“ _ Why? This pain you feel I can take it from you. I can free it from you. _ ”

He could feel his mind slip and something started raging in him, his pain, his rage burned hotter. He could hear shouting from outside his mind.

“SHALLAN ACTIVATE THE OATHGATE NOW!!!”

Nazan’s mind stabilised for a moment and he tapped his Connection to Harmony and Odium snarled in frustration as Harmony pushed Odium out. The building shook, a ripping sound manifested in the air and a blinding light filled the room. He fell down onto a hard floor and he opened his eyes to a pitch-black sky with a small sun in the sky.

_ Rusts and Ruin _

He could see above him stretched out red and black people, 30 feet tall. Beside him Akilah stood in her true form with a sword on her hip and a humanoid shape made of a red mist with a crystal mask over his face about the size of a young child. Around him he could see Syl, Pattern and Maya along with Shallan, Adolin, Kaladin and Vivenna.

“Damnation,” Vivenna said softly, “I hate this place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Aesudan is far more dangerous in this than canon. Yeah, is. She is still alive after she killed Elhokar she retreated so she wouldn't get killed. You will find out what happens to her in a couple of chapters or so.  
> By the way remember Investiture cannot be destroyed so those N-Light spheres that were broken released N-Light perhaps into the Spiritual Realm or just into the environment.


	19. Shadesmar Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention in the last chapter what happened to Nightmare given how they are normally in a sheath on Nazan's belt. Nazan was forced to quickly Soulcast an aluminium sheath around Nightmare as the sheath was destroyed but the sword itself wasn't by the intersection with the ground and Nazan didn't have enough Investiture to waste on wielding Nightmare.

“STORM IT! COLOURS! RUSTS AND RUIN!” Nazan shouted, punching the platform in fury.

Everyone around him looked at him in shock as he cursed and assaulted the platform for several minutes. His blood cooled and frozen in his anger. He straightened up, and looked at the sea of spheres.   
“Okay, welcome to Shadesmar everyone. How much Stormlight does everyone have?”   
Shallan looked at her bag of spheres, “A few spheres worth.”   
“Well I need about the same amount as an Oathgate transfer if we want to get out by Elsecalling.”   
“I don’t think we have enough for that.” Adolin said.

“Annoying, well we need to leave here now anyway. I think if we get to the right place I could use a relatively small amount of Stormlight to transfer us.”   
_ Sja-anat can you hear me? Are you there? I can still feel the Bond but it seems, off. She must have blocked herself off in case Odium took me over so she wouldn’t be taken. _

He picked up one of the spheres and felt the idea of a door. He infused it with a small amount of Stormlight, a door manifested before him floating in the beads and he stepped onto it. The rest of them stepped onto it and infused the shape with a couple of Breaths locking it in shape.

“You know what, I should show off a little.” As he said that he let his Breath Aura appear, the colour of the wood became more vibrant, his clothes seemed brighter and he could dissect the colours around him with proper ease again. “That’s much better, you all look much better this way.”   
“What did you do?” Adolin asked in surprise.

“He’s just showing off, Adolin. It isn’t that impressive.” Vivenna said, rolling her eyes.

“But, what is it?” He asked again.

“I’m showing my aura off, normally I suppress it but it looks better if I look like this on this side.”   
“Why?” Shallan asked.

“It makes us look more common, I now look like a normal rich guy. Kaladin, Adolin and Azure look like guards and Shallan you look like my charge. The spren all look like guides… except for Urim.”   
“Wait is Urim the weird looking mistspren?” Syl asked.   
“Who are you calling weird, Honorspren? I am a son of Yggdrasil. An Enlightened True Spren-”   
“Quiet son. She’s right, to most spren you would look weird so I need you to reenter the Physical Realm and return to Urithiru. When you are there, inform Yggdrasil of the situation, I can’t for some reason communicate to Sja so I need you to tell her that we’re in Shadesmar and that I am alright just a little stuck. Do you accept this task, Urim?”   
“Of course father, I accept this task, Yggdrasil requires this knowledge I hold. I will return once this task is complete.” Urim saluted and then melted into the beads.

“Wait, ‘father’?” Shallan asked.

“I Enlightened him, he sees me as his parent. Anyway, I’m over three hundred years old, you think I haven’t had kids before?”   
“Wait, you have kids? Like human kids?”   
“Yeah, obviously. They aren’t around these parts. They died centuries ago, but my descendents still exist back home.” Nazan said tired. “Anyway, time for us to find our way to a spren city. We should try to find a proper ship, they could get us supplies.”   
Nazan whispered to the Breath infused door and it started floating quickly southwards. He sat down with his legs over the side of the door staring into the distance. The days passed slowly as no one seemed comfortable talking. Eventually they reached a peninsula and Nazan took back his Breath from the door.

“Let’s walk, we should find a settlement of some sort, probably a lighthouse.”   
“Wait. Who put you in charge?” Adolin asked.

“Well, you have been listening to me for a while. Oh and I’ve actually met a god so clearly I’m the most qualified for leading. Anyway are you seriously going to argue with one of the two humans here who has been here for an extended period of time?” He said exasperated.

They hiked down the peninsula until they saw a lighthouse. Kaladin told them that he will scout ahead to make sure it would be safe.

“Okay but take this. Don’t draw it unless you have to fight and breathe in as much Stormlight as possible before you do so. If you do draw it, you will see in your mind for a time, truly awful things just remember they aren’t real, just nightmares. Don’t lose this if you do I will kill you.” Nazan handed the sheathed Nightmare to Kaladin.

“What is this sword?”   
“It’s a Shardblade I created but there are a few flaws in it’s function but it’s a good step forward.”

Kaladin attached the sheath to his belt and scouted ahead. Nazan lay down on the obsidian ground and stared into the alien sky.  _ Oh how I miss those mists. Strange to think that now I see Scadrial as my homeland more than Earth but I can barely remember Earth now emotionally speaking. I remember it more factually than anything else. I wonder if Kaladin has finished his ‘scouting’ and has seen the future. _

Eventually Kaladin came back talking about his glimpse into the future and they went into the lighthouse to wait.

“Adolin, may I borrow your side knife for a moment?”   
“Sure.” He shrugged, passing it to him, “What are you using it for?”   
“This.” He said storing his ability to feel pain in his tinmind and stabbing the knife into his own chest!

Adolin yelped in surprise while Nazan cut out a chunk of flesh revealing his sternum. He then tore part of it out tapping pewter to the sound of breaking bones. He quickly swallowed a gold bead and stored a little bit of health then began Compounding it until his sternum regrew and the tissue regenerated. He stopped storing into his tinmind and breathed out heavily. He held the bloody bone in his hand and cracked it open, dropping into his lap a small blood coated bead of a reflective silvery metal.  _ Good, I have a very rare good for trade. _

“What in Damnation did you just do!” Adolin shouted in confusion and horror as everyone started walking over.

“I was just making a withdrawal of something quite useful and valuable. Why are you acting so horrified, that wasn’t dangerous unless I had almost literally nothing on me.”   
“Did you waste Stormlight with that stunt?” Kaladin asked angrily.

“No, I used something far more consistent than Light, my own power. Now, I see a ship coming and I want to quickly wash off.”   
He quickly washed the bead, the knife which he handed back to Adolin and his clothing which he dried at the fire quickly before putting back on.

A couple of days later they reached Celebrant, splitting up; Kaladin, Adolin, Syl and himself would go acquire rations and supplies, and Shallan, Pattern, Akilah and Vivenna would go to the dock registrar to try to find a ship.

They hiked through the city, Nazan going slightly ahead tapping steel and burning pewter to move quickly. They reached a weapon’s shop and Nazan looked at a long thin silvery chain.

“You like?” the shopkeeper asked. She was made of vines- her face formed as if from green string- and wore a havah with a crystal safehand exposed. “Only a thousand broams of Stormlight.”   
“Do you barter?” He asked.

“Sure, if it’s worth it. What are you offering?”   
He pulled from his breast pocket a smaller bead of the silvery reflective metal, “This is pure Atium, not used for any of the Metallic Arts in its entire lifetime, could be used for any purpose do you accept the bargain.”   
The cultivationspren took a close look at the bead and said, “Well Atium is pretty much nonexistent in the wider Cosmere since Harmony ascension so this one bead is easily worth the chain.”   
“Good, so do you accept the bargain?”   
“Oh yes of course.” She quickly opened up the box and grabbed the chain.

He handed her the bead and took the chain in his hand then he put it in his pocket. Before leaving the shop and waiting to see smoke across the city, he dropped and rolled, storing in his atiummind till he looked like a grizzled old man when he did see the smoke. He quickly walked down towards the docks and got back to the rest of the group. He ignored the arguing of the group unti Syl ran towards the majestic white and gold honorspren ship, which was slowly being pulled away from the docks. She threw down her poncho and hat, then screamed up at the ship while running along the pier beside it.

“Hey!” she screamed. “Hey, look down here!”   
The vessel stopped ponderously, handlers slowing its mandras. Three blue-white honorspren appeared at the side, looking down with utter shock.

“Sylphrena, the Ancient Daughter?” one shouted.

“That’s me!” she shouted back. “You’d better catch me before I scamper away! Wow! I’m feeling capricious today. I might just vanish again, off to where nobody can find me!”

When the gangway dropped Nazan let the rest of the group go up first before walking up it calmly.

“Honorable spren, I am a diplomatic envoy from Scadrial on behalf of the Shard of Harmony to the peoples of Roshar, I will not wield my weapons against you but I would prefer to keep my weapons as a sign of trust.” He showed a tiny bead of Atium towards the honorspren.

Captain Notum nodded in acceptance and Nazan bowed respectfully towards him before pocketing the Atium bead again.  _ Onwards to Thaylen City. Onwards to Unity. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, he hides certain items inside his own bones like a Kandra. The bead he took from his sternum was large only in comparison to where it was stored in reality it could only be burned for 45 seconds or so but as you can see it is very useful for trading purposes due to Atium's rarity.  
> Have a Happy New Year, hope 2021 is better than 2020 see you soon.


	20. Thaylen City

**-Saoene-**

She stared out from a balcony in Urithiru looking across the glorious landscape and she felt  _ empty. He isn’t dead, Urim said he and the others were banished to Shadesmar but the Cognitive Realm is dangerous if you aren’t prepared for it. Yggdrasil can survive even if he dies but… we all know what that means, I will have to become the leader. I have always been the closest to him in spirit and mind, I am the only one able to preserve his plans. I hope if he is dead, Akilah will return and bond one of us and that Sja-anat would bond me. We need them to win the greatest advantage, to create the final branches of the World Tree. _

Ilan put her arm around Saoene’s shoulders and Saoene rested her head on Ilan’s shoulder.

“I’ve been moping around for wayyy too long, Ilan. It’s time for me to act on Nazan’s behalf with the coalition. Thanks my dear for looking after me in the last couple of weeks.”   
Ilan hummed to a different rhythm, “I will always look after you when you need me. I fear for Nazan too, I would be another of Odium’s slaves without him and I would never have met you. I doubt he would die, he understands how to survive, right?”   
“Yes, he will survive if forced too he will steal a large supply of Stormlight and force himself through using his Elsecalling, but he won’t not until the others are back in the Physical Realm.” Saoene smiled and left her room.

As she walked through the corridor in the Yggdrasil section of Urithiru, Marius walked over to her.

“Saoene, are you feeling better?”   
She could feel his touch on her emotions Rioting her confidence and Soothing her worry, she knew that most people would be bothered by him manipulating their emotions but for her it was comforting.

“Yes, give me the update on everything.”   
“Dalinar is following the same course of events as Nazan predicted. We aren’t able to act as squires for the time being so the work in Thaylen City has been delegated to the Sadeas forces. We are capturing spren for the fabrials that will be required.”   
“Where is Dalinar’s position in the timeline currently?”   
“This should be the day they translate the Eila Stele and the coalition collapses for a time.”   
“Then I must go to the meeting, mustn’t I. I will need Asira and a leecher. Yggdrasil will stand tall today while the rest of the world crumbles around us.”   
Marius nodded and walked away relaxed. Within moments Asira and the leecher stepped beside Saoene as bodyguards. She walked to the Thaylen Oathgate and waited for the transfer time. She arrived and immediately walked to the meeting chamber.  _ I must make an impression, it’s been far too long since I have had a chance to. _

She touched the duralumin chain and shifted her Connection to Preservation’s Investiture till it was a true Elantrian Connection. Her skin glowed with the inner light of a true Elantrian. She heard gasps around her but she didn’t react. 

“What? Why are you glowing?” Queen Fen asked in confusion.

“I am an Elantrian, I glow because of my Connection to divinity. I am acting as the representative of Yggdrasil in this council while my brother is missing. Anyway we aren’t here to discuss me are we?”   
“No, we’re not, let's get back to the topic at hand.” Dalinar said.

She only joined into the meeting to say that Yggdrasil will send men to defend Thaylen City when the war comes to it. Flashing of spanreeds happened and she focused,  _ Yggdrasil must show strength as the rest of the coalition collapses. _

The coalition started shouting over each other about the translation of the Eila Stele, the high king business and the meeting with Odium.

Saoene drew into the air Aon Ashe releasing a blast of bright light.

“Quiet, Dalinar Kholin, you are a storming idiot but Yggdrasil will stand beside you for the time being. We will allow you to remain within Urithiru and to keep using the Oathgates but remember this, you are not my king and if you breach Yggdrasil’s trust we will expel you from Urithiru along with the Alethi forces other than the Radiant Windrunners; I do not bluff, Yggdrasil has other methods for dealing with Odium. Those methods though will leave this world to burn and then, only then will we deal with Odium.” She turned with a dismissive air and walked away without looking back.

**-Nazan-**

He stood on the top deck staring with burning tin behind them and he could see eight Fused flying towards the ship. A sailor called out to the other sailors.

“What is it?” Kaladin asked.

“No idea,” Adolin said.

The captain waved for the mistspren and honorspren to make space, then took the spyglass. He finally lowered it and looked back at Kaladin.

“You were right, human, when you said you might be followed.” He waved Kaladin and Adolin forward. “Look low on the horizon, at two hundred ten degrees.”   
Kaladin looked through the spyglass, then breathed out. He extended it toward Adolin, but Shallan snatched it first,

“Storms!” she said. “There’s at least six of them.”   
“Eight, my scout says,” the captain replied.

“Your scout is correct Captain Notum. This will be difficult, I must prepare. I will seem cataconic for a bit when the Fused get close tap me on my shoulder.” Nazan said leaving the top deck and sitting on the stool he had been using for the voyage.

He started storing in all of his metalminds, Compounding with the little amount of metal he had on him and storing the Compounded trait into his metalminds. A few hours later he felt Akilah shake his shoulder and he stood up, stopping his storing into his metalminds.

“You sure you won’t change your mind?” Shallan asked Vivenna.

Vivenna shook her head.

“Well V, I hope we meet again, I will warn him for you.” He patted her on the shoulder.

“See you later Nazan. I hope that you do well.” She said.

“Azure,” Kaladin said. “I was too harsh earlier. That doesn’t mean I-”   
“It’s not that,” she said. “I simply have a different thread to chase, and besides, I left my men to fight these monsters in Kholinar. Doesn’t feel right to do the same again.” She smiled. “Don’t fear for me, Stormblessed. You will have a much better chance if I stay here- as will these sailors. When you boys next meet the swordsman who taught you that morning kata, warn him that I’m looking for him.”   
“Zahel?” Adolin said. “You know Zahel?”   
“We’re old friends,” she said. “Notum, have your sailors been cutting those bales of cloth into the shapes I requested?”   
“Yes,” the captain said. “But I don’t understand-”   
“You soon will.” She gave Kaladin a lazy salute and he returned it.

“Are you going?” the captain said to Shallan. “Every moment you delay increases the danger to us all.” He still wouldn’t look at Syl.

Shallan jumped from the ship and then Nazan and the rest of the group. He burst through the beads into a small room. The group slowly got out of the sea and began their flight towards Thaylen City.

A couple of days later, they walked through a strange crystal forest up and over hills. Eventually they reached the top of a hill and Nazan looked over an ocean of glass beads with thousands of flames on the top of the beads.

Thaylen City.

Adolin joined him and Kaladin at the top, then finally Shallan and the four spren. Shallan sighed and settled to the ground, coughing softly from the effort of the climb.

Amid the sea of lights were two towering spren, like the ones in Kholin. One sparkled a multitude of colours while the other shimmered an oily black. Both stood tall, holding spears as long as a building. The sentries of the Oathgate, and they weren’t Enlightened.

Beneath them, the device itself manifested as a large stone platform with a wide, sweeping white bridge running over the beads and to the shore.

That bridge was guarded by an entire army of enemy spren, hundreds, perhaps thousands strong.

“All this way,” Shallan whispered, “and they’re already here?”

On the shore, a large dark mass of living red light surged across the obsidian ground. A half dozen Fused passed overhead and landed on the bridge that led to the Oathgate platform.

He half listened to the ongoing conversation around him. He burned bronze and could feel something large surrounding the city like a snake constricting its prey.

“They aren’t here for us.” He said it quietly but that was enough for the group to all look at him. “He’s here. Odium. I can feel him. We have arrived in time for the most important battle of the war so far. The battle for Dalinar’s soul.”   
“What? My father’s soul? What do you mean?”   
“Odium wants to corrupt Dalinar to his side but I believe that Dalinar will win. Odium is also going to try and take control over Thaylen City and its Oathgate. We must push and force our way to the Oathgate to arrive in the city.”

The largest of the spren, Nergaoul the Thrill vanished from Shadesmar entering the Physical Realm. 

“Something’s happening,” Kaladin said to Adolin and Shallan, who were still discussing what to do. “We might have an opening!”   
They joined him and watched as the army of Voidspren began to vanish too, winking out in waves.

“The Oathgate?” Shallan asked. “Maybe they’re using it?”   
“No, the Oathgate is of Honour, Odium pulled them through.”   
In moments, only the six Fused remained, guarding the bridge.

“I can challenge them as a distraction,” Kaladin said to the others. “Maybe we can use some illusions as well? We can draw them off while Shallan sneaks over and figures out how to work the Oathgate.”   
“I suppose we don’t have any other choice,” Adolin said. “But…”   
“What?” Kaladin said, urgent.

“Aren’t you worried about where that army went?”

Kaladin went ahead and drew four of the Fused away into the air. Shallan created illusions of about twenty men. They charged attacking the Fused, Nazan tapped steel and pewter becoming faster and stronger in body. Nightmare was unsheathed in a moment and flashes of blood and pain appeared in his mind. He struck the Fused’s lance expecting Nightmare to slice through it with ease but the lance held firm.

_ Aluminium of course in case of Shardbearers. _

He moved with inhuman speed and strength but so did the Fused powered by Voidlight.  _ Time to win, my way. _ He jumped into the lance unexpectedly letting it pierce his entire body before forcing Nightmare into the Fused.

“ **DESTROY ENEMIES! PROTECT FRIENDS!** ” He heard Nightmare roar into his mind.

The Fused’s body grew grey then white before crumbling into a pile of white dust. Nazan sheathed the Blade and tapped a lot of health from his goldmind his stab wound knitting closed in an instant. The other Fused charged from the air at Nazan who slid backwards burning electrum which let him see his body about to be pierced by the lance so he tapped steel and iron becoming ten times heavier and faster. He Lashed upwards straight into the Fused’s path unexpectedly. The Fused tried to dodge but Nazan grabbed him with incredible speed and unlashed himself. His weight forced the two of them to drop like stones and he managed to flip himself on top of the Fused.

He Compounded pewter for a moment becoming a hundred times stronger for a single moment in which he punched the Fused causing it’s head to explode from the force.

He and Adolin rushed over to Shallan with the Oathgate spren which didn’t seem in the mood to send them through. 

“Shallan, they’re not bringing us through are they?” He asked.

“No they said they’re bound by an oath to Honour not to let people through.”   
“Alright then if they won’t help us willingly then I will have to show them a new path, a new choice.” He breathed in his last sphere of N-Light and touched the pearly-white spren and pressed the N-Light into it.

“ _ What are you trying to do? _ ”   
“Show you a new path.” But as he said that he felt something surround him and infuse him.

_ Hatred _

_ Rage _

_ Despair _

_ Hatred _

_ Rage _

_ Despair _

_ Hatred _

_ Rage _

_ Despair _

“ _ We must stop meeting like this Nazan. _ ” Odium spoke his voice like the cooling waves.

Flashes of his death.

Flashes of his new parents’ deaths

Flashes of pain

Flashes of Ruin

“ _ I can take this pain from you Nazan. _ ”

_ Pain _

_ Despair _

_ Rage _

_ Hatred _

_ Pain _

_ Despair _

_ Rage _

_ Hatred _

“ _ I can take it all from you just let me in. _ ”   
_ All that pain and fear and despair can be taken away by him. Can’t it? All I need to do is let him in. _

“ _ Nazan. Nazan. NAZAN! Yeah Odium can take it all from you but he will take everything else, your joys, your loves, your ambitions, your pride. He will steal it all equally from you. _ ”  _ Akilah? _ _   
_ _ Yeah she’s right. _

Nazan opened his eyes and pulled himself shaking to his feet.

“NO!” He shouted at the vision of Odium in front of him.

“ _ Don’t be ridiculous. _ ”   
“NO! YOU CAN’T HAVE THEM!”   
“ _ Be sensible. _ ”

“NO! THEY ARE MINE! YOU CAN’T HAVE MY FLAWS, MY WEAKNESSES, MY HATRED! They are what make me me. They are what make me a better man.  **I will take responsibility for my faults and will despite and because of them achieve my true potential!** ” His bond to Akilah flared with power as he spoke the Fourth Ideal and he continued, “ **I will free those in the shackles of their destinies and primal emotions. I will grant them the freedom to choose a new journey.** ” His Bond to Sja-anat flared and opened again truly for the first time in far too long.   
“ _ Nazan, you’re back? _ ” She said questioningly.

Odium looked at him shocked but looked past him as Shadesmar exploded with Light. The remaining Fused screamed, the beads clattered and roared. A brilliant glowing pillar in the middle of the sea of beads. This shell of Odium dissipated probably distracted by Dalinar.

Around Nazan a fog of logicspren surrounded him, some of them Enlightened but others pure as can be. They ran at the perpendicularity as it filled them with Stormlight. As they passed through Kaladin forced Amaram away from Dalinar and the logicspren around Nazan formed into full plate and in his hand dropped Akilah as a Blade long and thin and in his left hand dropped a dark grey shortsword that seemed to glitch?  _ Reality seems to not work around that Shardblade. _

“ _ It’s made of Enlightened logicspren, Nazan of course it seems strange that is the value of choice. _ ” He nodded and then he saw Jasnah.

He willed the helm of his Shardplate to disappear and when Jasnah saw him her eyes widened slightly in surprise. He ran to her and grabbed her in a hug which she returned after a split second hesitation.  _ Thank Harmony that I’m used to enhanced strength or I would be breaking bones right now. _

“Sorry, Jasnah about the whole disappearing from this Realm thing. Odium is quite annoying.”   
“I knew you weren’t dead but… I was still worried.” She said softly   
“I know. Now we have a battle to win, correct?”   
She nodded as they pulled out of the hug. Both of their expressions hardening, he summoned his helmet and resummoned the Blades that he had dropped for a moment.

Dalinar barked. “Renarin!”   
“Sir!” Renarin said, scrambling forward.

“We need to hold out until troops arrive from Urithiru. Fen doesn’t have the numbers to fight alone. Get to the Oathgate, stop that thunderclast up there from destroying it, and open the portal.”   
“Sir!” Renarin saluted.

“Shallan, we don’t have an army yet,” Dalinar said. “Lightweave one up for us, and keep these soldiers busy. They’re consumed by a bloodlust that I suspect will make them easier to distract. Jasnah, the city we’re defending happens to have a big storming hole in its wall. Can you hold that hole and stop anyone who tries to get through?”   
She nodded, thoughtful.

“I’ll help Jasnah, two Elsecallers are better than one. Sja-anat and Saoene are getting my people organised to bring support to the battlefield. I need to test run this Plate.”   
Dalinar nodded and Kaladin asked, “What about me?”   
Dalinar pointed at Amaram, who was climbing to his feet in his Shardplate. “He’s going to try to kill me for what I do next, and I could use a bodyguard. As I recall, you have a score to settle with the highlord.”   
“You could say that.”   
“Lift, I believe I already gave you an order. Take the assassin and get me that ruby. Together, we hold this city until Renarin returns with troops. Any questions?”   
“Um…” Lift said. “Could you maybe … tell me where to get something to eat…?”   
“There…. should be a supply dump just inside the wall.”   
“Thanks!”

He and Jasnah retreated to the hole in the wall, she had her Ivoryblade in her hand and he held the Enlightenedblade in his offhand and an Akilahblade in his main hand.

“Jasnah, I will handle the enemies, Soulcast the wall while you are full of Stormlight.”   
She nodded and Nazan Soulcast the air under his Plate into 16 different bands around his torso, legs and arms. He stored the near infinite supply of Stormlight into the nicrosilmind then Soulcast beads of metal into the air and quickly swallowed them. Nazan started Compounding all of the metals and storing the majority becoming twice as fast, strong, heavy and mentally quick.

He felt a rushing of air coming from behind him as a force of twenty soldiers. He cut the first few down in a couple slashes of his Blades then he Soulcast the air above the remaining soldiers into oil. Nazan Soulcast slightly creating a spark in the air and the oil lit on fire.   
The soldiers started screaming in agony as they were burned alive. The next group of soldiers came and Nazan ran into the group sweeping the Blades wildly chopping through them. He kicked one of the soldiers into the group, he started turning into glass and each soldier hit by him turned into glass with him. They all shattered on impact against the ground.

He turned and saw the hole was filled in with bronze and Jasnah said, “Let’s go onto the wall and start cleansing the inside of the city of hostiles.”   
He nodded and Soulcast a staircase up the wall. They ran up the stairs and Jasnah removed the steps behind them. He and Jasnah split up upon reaching the top of the wall; she went to speak to Queen Fen while he burned steel and Pushed on the bronze seal for the wall sending himself hurtling through the air towards the Oathgate.

_ Time to bring Yggdrasil to war, we’ve been preparing for this for so long.  _ The men in the city looked up at him in awe, he wasn’t alight with Stormlight, he had burned through the Stormlight he had breathed in from the perpendicularity that he hadn’t stored.  _ They don’t see a Windrunner. They see a Mistborn flying on steel lines. _

He could see the thunderclast but it didn’t matter, he flew over it’s head on the steel lines. He breathed in only a little Stormlight Soulcasting metal behind him and flew on the new steel lines going upwards at the Oathgate.

Finally he arrived at the Oathgate platform and stayed off it so when it was activated he wouldn’t be taken.  _ Sja it’s time to get Yggdrasil here now. _

“ _ We are coming, Teft has just sworn the Third Ideal and Yggdrasil forces have arrived at the platform and we’re pushing the last of the Singers from Urithiru. Just a few minutes more. _ ”   
_ I will defend this platform. _ Four Fused flew at him and Nazan breathed Stormlight and Pulled their weapons from their hands. His weight multiplied tenfold and the weapons flew at him then he stopped Pulling and started Pushing with his unending fury. The Fused dodged their own weapons and tried to fly after them but Nazan Lashed himself at an insane speed. He impaled the first Fused on his Blade then slashed the second with the Enlightenedblade but the other two had grabbed their lances and rushed towards them again.

He tried to pull them again but they held the lances with much more strength than before. He got pinned in the air every time he got past one lance, the other Fused defended them until they were ready to fight again. He burned chromium and tapped steel in an instant tapped the Fused’s hands dropping the Blades confusing them as suddenly they dropped like stones as the Voidlight was wiped from their bodies.

_ I win, don’t fight fair Heavenly Ones. I’m not a Windrunner, I am a Mistborn and we don’t fight fair. _

Beneath him a flash of white light expanded from the Oathgate before dissipating revealing Kholin troops and dozens of glowing men and women; most were Windrunner squires but a small number were Elsecaller squires,  _ my squires, Yggdrasil members. _ He dropped to the ground and found Saoene, Asira, a few pewterarms and a couple of coinshots. They all glowed with Stormlight and they looked at each other with the absolute trust they had cultivated together over the centuries. In a single movement they charged into the city towards the outer wall to fight.

A long time later after countless deaths, the battle ended. A couple of days later, Nazan sat outside the conference chamber in Urithiru, brand new metalminds in the form of rings, bracelets, bracers, earrings and leg bands. Plenty of metalminds for each of the metals, an atium ring tight on his finger. Nightmare in a sheath on his belt and ropes tying over his clothing ready to be Awakened. Pouches of spheres filled with Stormlight and N-Light.

Suddenly the doors slammed open, the noise of it sending a shock through the room, complaints falling silent. Jasnah Kholin stood in the doorway. She wore a small but unmistakable crown on her head. Nazan stood up and walked up to her and knelt respectfully.

“Rise Nazan of Yggdrasil, Elsecaller of the Fourth Ideal.”

He rose with a smile on his lips, “Your Majesty I must leave and inform Yggdrasil of the news.”   
She nodded and he walked away.  _ Good, the plans are working out, just a couple of important steps must be completed and we will win. _

**-Aesudan-**

Aesudan mistress over the Blightwind stood beside a Heavenly One. For a day Yelig-nar had left her to use another as a host but he returned to her afterwards. She was the only person able to hold an Unmade for longer than that brief time. 

Lady Leshwi spoke at last, “Hnanan wishes to speak with you,” the ancient singer spren said. “Join us above.”   
Leshwi didn’t seem to like her but still treated her with respect due to Odium’s favouring of her. Leshwi flew away and Aesudan summoned the Voidlight pulling herself after Leshwi.

Hnanan stood on a balcony and she spoke, “Odium has a command for you. This is rare for a human.”   
“Speak it.” She said commandingly.

“You have killed a king,” she said, removing a strange knife with a sapphire set into it’s pommel from a sheath in her robes. The metal was bright golden, so light it was almost white. “Would you do the same to a god?”

She took the knife and hours later dropped to the ground in the gardens. She saw a man that she had seen many times.  _ A Herald, stooping so low even in his insanity, disgusting. _

“Have you seen me?” The man asked as she walked close.

“Yes, and I see that you are beneath me.” She said with disgust and rammed the knife into the man’s chest. The Herald took it with a quiet grunt, smiled a silly smile, then closed his eyes.

“Was, was, was…” The man started to tremble violently, his eyes opening wide. “Was… no. No, what is this death? What is this death!”   
Huddled forms stirred, and some of the wiser ones scuttled away.

“It’s taking me!” the man screamed, then looked down at the knife in Aesudan’s hand. “What is that?”

The man trembled for a moment more, then jerked once, going motionless. When Aesudan pulled the knife free, it trailed dark smoke and left a blackened wound. The large sapphire at the pommel took on a subdued glow.

She held the knife in the air as gloryspren surrounded her. Aesudan was the slayer of Jezrien. Yaezir. Jezerezeh’Elin, king of Heralds. A figure known in myth and lore as the greatest human who had ever lived.

Days later, Aesudan felt Odium in the corner of her mind and a single word was spoken into her mind.  _ Vyre. _

_ She Who Quiets. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oathbringer is now complete at last. I have put this work in a series for when I start writing the prequel to this.


	21. The Bifrost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a bit longer this time as now that we are up to Dawnshard and Rhythm of War things are getting changed to a ridiculous degree now so I have to predict a web of consequences of actions from the near beginning of this work that only kick in around now.

Nazan stood in the rebuilt Thaylen City docks looking up at a huge metal ship smiling with pride it was multiple stories high. He dropped a small coin on the ground beneath him and burned steel and stored weight hurtling into the air and dropped onto the metal deck of the ship. In the center of the deck stood a machine that was being worked on by a half dozen members of Yggdrasil who were interested in engineering and fabrial mechanics. The machine looked like a cannon with dozens of glowing gemstones and various metals making it up.

_ That will be useful against Fused and Surgebinders if it works. It will use bronze Allomancy to target Invested individuals automatically and a combination of gunpowder and steelpushing will make each shot lethal even for Shardbearers. Especially if the ammunition includes Anti-Light and gets boosted by Feruchemical iron and steel to increase its speed and weight by a large amount. _

It had been several months since the Battle of Thaylen Field and about two months since the ghost ship from Akinah had been discovered by a Thaylen military ship. Men and women were running all about the deck of the ship finishing as many fabrials and mechanical components as possible before the ship was to go on it’s first proper voyage.

He walked over to the cannon which caused one of the engineers to jump up to her feet, “Hi boss, you want an update?” El spoke with a Threnodite accent excitedly, she wore a cap that he knew had aluminium to block emotional allomancy.   
“Yes El, I need an update.”   
“Everything is on schedule, the cannon is almost finished, we just need you to prime the Feruchemical mechanisms. The rest of the fabrials and machines for the ship are ready.”    
“Good, I knew you would be able to do everything. I will prime the Feruchemical mechanisms when you need me to do so.” Nazan said, smiling.   
“Thanks boss, oh. One of those spanreeds in your office is blinking.”   
“Thank you for telling me El, I’ll go deal with that.”

Nazan bowed his head slightly to her and El bowed her head back. He walked down into the lower decks and went into his office after unlocking the door with a touch and tapping slightly on the metal handle. On the walls of his office hung dozens of medallions and in the light of a glowing green lamp sat four potted flowers with vibrant red, yellow, blue and orange petals and filling a tall glass cylinder that sat on a cabinet was white sand.

On the desk a spanreed flashed insistent.  _ That’s the spanreed connected to Navani and Dalinar, that must mean… Rysn… Akinah. _ Nazan stepped behind the desk and sat down for a moment looking through the window in the door before he rotated the ruby to indicate that the message was received and he set the spanreed up for receiving the message.

Navani wrote, “ _ Hello Nazan, I have just received a message from a Thaylen merchant about being interested in the Akinah expedition. I know you wanted to be involved in whatever expedition we manage to organise so at the Oathgate for the next transfer so you can be here for the meeting. _ ”

“ _ Of course Navani, thank you for alerting me. I will be there, don't worry, I just have a couple of things to organise here but I will be back in Urithiru before the Thaylen arrives. _ ”

Nazan walked over to a safe and summoned his Enlightenedblade as a dagger. He pushed it into a slot. “ _ Hello Father, access is granted. _ ” A robotic voice appeared in his mind.

He pulled the Blade out of the slot and the safe door swung open revealing test tubes filled with blood in each one were spikes of various metals and below that were sheets of aluminium covered in writing that was etched into the metal. He ignored all of that and grabbed a vial with multiple beads of atium inside and slipped it into a pouch on his belt.

_ Good that I figured out a simple production method for God Metals even if it produces a small amount at a time. I still don’t understand why atium is so much easier than lerasium perhaps it’s because… _

He closed the safe door which automatically locked and left his office. He walked on deck and primed a few feruchemical devices. He then stored 80% of his weight and burned steel. He flew on steel lines to the Oathgate, below him people looked up in surprise before moving on.  _ They’re getting used to me I think. _

He transferred to Urithiru and went to the meeting chamber Navani was using for the day. He nodded to the guards at the door as he entered.

“You won’t mind Brightness if I stay here for the meeting, the next transfer should bring the merchant to Urithiru.”

“I don’t have any meetings till then Nazan. Would you like a seat?”   
“No thank you, I’ll stand until she arrives.”   
Navani looked at him curiously, “What’s wrong Nazan?”   
“Nothing is wrong Navani.”   
“Something is wrong, you normally take any seat you can even I’ve noticed that and also you normally only have three pouches filled on your belt but today you have four filled pouches.”   
“Well done Navani, no one else has noticed that small detail. The Akinah expedition worries me, I have theories on what’s there and if those theories are true well…” He trailed off.

“Well what?” She asked.

“Well I will need to be ready for the dangers of Akinah.”   
“And you think you need to be ready for them right now?”   
“If I was guarding ancient secrets my first move will be to try and kill as many of the people planning to go to the place I am protecting before they even start the journey. Also, I would feel bad if you get assassinated while I’m in the room so extra precautions are necessary on my part.”   
“You think there will be an assassination attempt during the meeting with the merchant?”   
“No, not really but I have been wrong with my guesses on the future before. They will most likely wait until we are at sea. When I leave my people will be helping with your protection though none of them are on my level so I will try to draw focus on me not too difficult.”   
Nazan stood at a window and stared out of it. About an hour later a young Thaylen woman was carried in on a palanquin and a dark skinned man with blue tattoos across his skin lifted her up and sat her onto the seat before Navan. He saw it happen through the reflection on the glass of the window which he kept staring through.

_ Rysn and her Sleepless Nikli. So the game begins. _ He turned around as Navani spoke, “So…” she said in Thaylen. “Who are you again?”   
“Brightness?” Rysn said. “Er, I’m Rysn Ftori. Bah-Vstim? I came in response to your request?”   
“Oh, right,” Navani said. “The ghost ship.” Navani held out her palm, and her assistant hurried over handing her the appropriate notes. The queen stood and paced as she read through the notes while Rysn waited.

Navani sat down beside Rysn. “Queen Fen says that you have inspected the ship in person?”

Nazan grabbed a chair and sat himself next to Navani, “Hello Lady Rysn, I’m Nazan Knight Radiant of the Order of Elsecallers and if you take up this mission my ship will be alongside yours on the journey to Akinah.”   
“Is your ship that huge metal one out in the docks?” Rysn asked, curious.

“Yes, the Bifrost, top of the line. With countless fabrials covering each and every function necessary and an all squire crew.”   
“If it’s so top of the line why aren’t you and your crew already going?”   
“Because I don’t trust it.” Navani said. “It’s design is far too experimental, your ship will act as an emergency vessel if the Bifrost is wrecked. We can’t afford to lose Nazan.”   
“But I’m not willing to delegate this task, it’s far too important to leave to people less capable than myself.”

The conversation continued quite similar to how it went in canon and Rysn accepted the duty. Nazan let Shadesmar overlap his vision as Rysn and Nikli left, he reached out with his mind and touched the flame of the Sleepless.  _ So, not much different to a normal mind. Very annoying. _

He returned to his ship and started preparations for the voyage to Akinah. Saoene brought Aonic blades for the entire crew of about 250,  _ Thank Harmony we managed to bring the majority of Yggdrasil to Roshar through the Oathgates over the last few months. _ Nazan supplied Lashing Fabrials for about a third of the crew.

Eventually the voyage began, the steam engine started and the other fabrials started up lightening the ship and pushing it faster. 

An ettmetal machine was compounding nicrosil which was producing Investiture that was being converted into Stormlight and being pushed into gems which were connected to all of the other mechanisms in the ship.

He stood at the front of the ship looking in the direction of Aimia and smiled in excitement.

_ Here I come Dawnshard of Change… _


	22. Dawnshard

Cord, the daughter of Rock the Horneater member of Bridge Four, dug her hand into a barrel on the Wandersail, then pulled it out letting thick grains of lavis dribble between her fingers. This revealed the worms; though they were generally the same colour as the grain, they uncurled and writhed on the surface, then buried themselves again.

“All of the barrels?” Rysn asked.

“Each and every one,” Kstled said, nodding for his sailors to open two more barrels.

“I came to get supplies for food,” the Horneater woman said in thickly accented Alethi. “And discovered. They are… every one this thing.”

“The grain has been cursed,” Kstled muttered. “Dark Soulcasting, performed by evil Passions during the storm.”   
Rysn said, “Or we simply bought some stock with dormant larvae hiding inside.”   
“We checked thoroughly,” Kstled said. “We always check. And look, this first barrel was left over from our original stores, taken on in Thaylen City. This other one was from an early resupply, and this one we picked up only two days ago. All have worms now.”   
“Spontaneous genesis has been disproven multiple times, armsman,” Rysn said to Kstled. “This didn’t happen because there’s some kind of dark Soulcaster aboard our ship.”

“Maybe it happened because of our destination,” he replied. “The men dream terrible dreams full of premonitions, and their dread Passion creates omens.” The other sailors nodded again.

“Kstled, how much of the crew knows about this?”   
“All of them, Rebsk,” he replied, glancing towards Cord.

“My sorrows,” Cord replied. “I did not know this thing was… he was bad… I asked others…” 

“Rebsk Rysn, I offer my ship’s supplies to your crew. It won’t be very appetising food but I will supply you with food. My ship’s food stocks are still uninfested.”   
“Thank you, we will need some food but I have ideas for dealing with this.”   
Nazan nodded and quickly left for the Bifrost, with a quick Lashing he flew onto his ship’s deck and was delivering orders, “Yggdrasil, we need to transfer some of our food supplies to the Wandersail. What I have predicted has come to pass, so we must be ready.”   
His crew nodded and the heavy lifters, warriors, pewterarms and Brutes went to collect the food supplies for the next few days of sail for the Wandersail and it’s crew.

**-Nikli-**

Nikli stepped into the head, locked the door, and turned off the body’s sense of smell to avoid being bombarded by the odor of this place. Nikli held up this body’s hand and made a fist, pleased by how long the form held. But now Nikli relaxed, and the seams in the body’s skin split, letting cool air reach into it’s squirming insides- which shivered, relieved to finally be allowed free motion after keeping tight for so long.

At the same time, Nikli closed the body’s most obvious set of eyes- its human eyes, which were actually functional, something Nikli was proud of. Most Sleepless used prop eyes. That caused their sight lines to be off, easier to notice.

With the body’s eyes closed, it was easier to feel the distant pieces of the self. Spread all across Roshar. And Nikli could make them buzz, communicating with the others, speaking directly from mind to mind as its buzzes were interpreted by hordlings bred specifically for the purpose.

‘ _ We, _ ’ Nikli sent to the others, ‘ _ Have a problem. _ ’

‘ _ Indeed we do, Nikliasorm, _ ’ sent Alalhawithador, who had a low angry buzz. ‘ _ They aren’t responding to your encouragements to turn back. You have failed. Other measures will be required. _ ’

‘ _ The problem is not that, _ ’ Nikli sent. ‘ _ The problem is that I am coming to like them. _ ’

‘ _ This is not unexpected, _ ’ Yelamaiszin sent. It had a smooth, calming buzz. It was First, the oldest of the swarms on Roshar. Nikli was the Twenty-Fourth, youngest of them. ‘ _ I like the Bondsmith, for example, though I know he will destroy us. _ ’

‘ _ He will not, _ ’ Zyardil sent. Its buzz was punctuated and sharp. ‘ _ He has made the decision of Honor. _ ’

‘ _ That is why he will destroy us, _ ’ Yelamaiszin replied. ‘ _ He is more dangerous now, not less. _ ’

‘ _ This is a different argument, _ ’ said Alalhawithador, who was Third- a swarm almost as old as Yelamaiszin. ‘ _ You like these humans, Nikliasorm. That is good. We are so bad at imitating them, and you learn well from your travels. More of us should spend time studying humans, to become like them. _ ’

‘ _ Plus, _ ’ Yelamaiszin said, ‘ _ we should have compassion for those we must cull. It is good you like the humans. _ ’

‘ _ Must we cull them though? _ ’ Nikli replied.

‘ _ Humans are a fire that must be contained, _ ’ Yelamaiszin said with its calm buzz. ‘ _ You are young. You were not yet Separated during the scouring. _ ’

‘ _ I would like to try again to ward them away, _ ’ Nikli sent.

‘ _ This is a mess, _ ’ said Alalhawithador, the angriest of the swarms. ‘ _ It should not have gone this far. You should have killed them before this. _ ’

‘ _ They should not have found the ship, _ ’ Zyardil sent. ‘ _ This would all be contained if it hadn’t been discovered. _ ’

‘ _ It was sent to sink, _ ’ Alalhawithador replied. ‘ _ It could not have survived storms without help. Its discovery is no coincidence. _ ’

‘ _ Arclomedarian crosses us again, _ ’ said Yelamaiszin, the First. ‘ _ It meddles more and more. It has met with these new Radiants. _ ’

‘ _ Are we certain it was wrong to do so? _ ’ Nikli asked. ‘ _ Perhaps that was the wise move. _ ’

‘ _ You are young, _ ’ Yelamaiszin sent, calm and sure. ‘ _ Youth is beneficial in some ways. You learn faster than us, for example. _ ’

Nikli could imitate humans better than the others. When the swarm that had become Nikli had been Separated, it had already contained hordelings evolved for this subterfuge. Nikli had further evolved them, and was now certain that the body didn’t need the tattoos to cover the seams in its skin.

‘ _ Arclomedarian is dangerous, _ ’ Nikli sent. ‘ _ I can see this. But it is not as dangerous as the true traitors. _ ’

‘ _ Both are equally dangerous, _ ’ Yelamaiszin sent. ‘ _ Trust us. You do not bear the scars of memory older swarms do. _ ’

‘ _ We must listen to the youthful, _ ’ Zyardil snapped. ‘ _ They are not set in their ways! The humans that come this time are not pirates, First looking only for lucre. They are more persistent. If we kill them, there will be more. Especially now that Yggdrasil has sent a force with their leader, Nazan will never stop. He wants the Dawnshard. He wouldn’t come for anything less. _ ’

‘ _ We need to cull Yggdrasil, especially him if they reach the storm. _ ’ Alalhawithador responded, growling. ‘ _ My plan is the best, let them breach the storm _ ’

‘ _ No, _ ’ Yelamaiszin said. ‘ _ No, we must prevent that. _ ’

At this point of conflict, the question was sent to all of the swarms- all twenty that still accepted the leadership of the First- to ask. Was it time to sink the human ship?

The responses were tallied. It was a stalemate, they decided. Half wanted to let the humans reach the storm- where they would either fall to the winds or enter the realm of the Sleepless. Half wanted to kill them immediately, before the storm. Several, like Nikli, abstained from the vote.

Nikli’s own swarm buzzed with relief and satisfaction at the uncertainty in the others. This was an opening.

‘ _ I would like to try one more time to ward them off, _ ’ Nikli repeated. ‘ _ I have an idea that I believe will work, but I will need help. _ ’

This was sent to another vote, and Nikli’s bodies- the distant ones, not on the ship- all vibrated with anticipation.

Yes, the vote came. Yes, Nikli should be allowed to try again.

‘ _ It hurts us to kill Radiants, let alone of the Sighted, _ ’ said Yelamaiszin, the First. ‘ _ You may try this plan. If it fails, however, I will hold another vote- and you must be willing to take more drastic measures. _ ’

**-Nazan-**

Nikli had been sent away for being a traitor a few weeks before and they were almost at the storm. He sat in the Wandersail with his Seon Ake showing Jasnah.

“We are almost at the storm, Akinah is less than a day away.”   
“Good Nazan. Be careful, you have told me of how dangerous the guardians of Akinah are.”   
“I will be careful. You too Jasnah. If you need help contact me and I will come no matter what.”   
“I will just finish the expedition quickly.”

He nodded, “Love you Jasnah.”   
“Love you too Nazan.”   
The connection ended and Nazan smiled. He could smell someone with his tin enhanced senses. He burned pewter and jumped turning towards the individual. Rysn and the sailor who had replaced Nikli as her porter.  _ Rusts. Jasnah wanted to keep this quiet. _

Rysn’s eyebrow was raised looking at him and the glowing orb floating beside him. The sailor’s jaw was hanging open in shock, Nazan turned and opened an aluminium box. Ake floated into the box and he closed the box.

“What was that? Is it a spren?” Rysn asked.

“Of a kind.”   
“And what was that?”   
“Nothing. You didn’t see anything. Did you?” He stared coldly at Rysn.

“So, you and Queen Jasnah are what? Courting?” Rysn asked unbothered.

“Yes and that fact isn’t public so you will keep it to yourself otherwise you might have an unfortunate accident.” That threat made both Rysn and the sailor flinch.

“We’ll keep it to ourselves. I had come to tell you we are only an hour away from entering the storm.”   
He nodded and put the aluminium box into his bag. He returned to the Bifrost using a Lashing. Nazan returned the aluminium box to his office and he returned to the deck.

“Hiya boss, the Highstorm fabrials are ready to be activated. Do you want to press the button?” El asked while tinkering with a small fabrial.

“No thank you El, you should do it. You were the one to design and make most of the Bifrost’s fabrial, this is your victory.” Nazan said, smiling at El.

“REALLY! Thanks boss.” She shouted in excitement and ran towards the ‘mast’.

_ I forget sometimes how young she really is. Her life has been a lot easier than most people in Yggdrasil, most of her experience with death was when she was leaving Threnody. _

She scanned a panel on the mast that had a dozen buttons, each one colour coded. She found a blue button and pressed it almost bouncing on the balls of her feet. Bursting from the mast came a crackle of electricity and the hum of the pure tone of Honor.

An hour later, the two ships entered the storm. The storm seemed to bend around the Bifrost, the winds and rain curving around the edge of the ship. It was like they were sailing on a calm day with how easily they sailed.

_ Storm repeller fabrials, windspren in a sapphire with a steel wire frame, makes them repel the wind they are attracted to normally. _

They burst through the edge of the storm and see the ring of huge stone spikes around a small island.  _ Akinah, the Dawnshard. I can almost smell it. The Rhythms of Roshar feel different ever so slightly, if I didn’t have perfect pitch from the Breaths and the ability to enhance my bronze sense using a tinmind, I wouldn’t have a hope of detecting it. So, time for my preparations to pay off. _

He pulled from his pocket, a vial filled with beads of atium and quickly swallowed the beads. He could feel a new metal appear in his Allomantic reserves and he nodded with satisfaction.

He ran down into his office and acquired an Aonic device with Aon Ire engraved on it. He returned to deck in time for them to be ready for landing onto the island.

“People of Yggdrasil this will be dangerous as I warned you before this voyage began but together no enemy can bring us down. Not Odium, not Ruin, not Autonomy, not the Ghostbloods and definitely not the pile of cremlings that stand between us and the treasure of this island.” Nazan announced to the crew with a swarm of Enlightened windspren flying around him, “We will take the Dawnshard from it’s weak protectors and claim it for the service of Yggdrasil.”   
The crew of the Bifrost nodded and El shoved her fist into the air. Nazan walked to the edge of the ship and tapped the Aonic device and time slid to a stop. He swung over the side of the ship Compounding steel, Lashing diagonally downwards, burning pewter and tapping gold. His Plate grew around him as he dove into the water, he swam towards a light from the rocks at the bed of the sea. Time was frozen around him, the water was stiff but his body was so strong and fast that the water was forced around him still.

He swam through a tunnel tapping cadmium minds for air and started burning bendalloy forming a bubble of rapid time around him as the Aonic device shut down. The bubble was anchored to him thanks to his savanthood and so he was still travelling so fast that only someone tapping zinc could follow his path.

He burst out of the water into an underground cavern, stopping his Compounding of steel and tapping of gold. He followed the passage, ignoring the murals depicting people dropping through perpendicularities, until he found a small chamber with a mural that was circular in shape, depicting a sun being shattered into sixteen near-symmetrical pieces. Inlays of gold foil throughout the mural make it seem to glow on its own rather than merely reflecting outside light. Red foil inlays trace the outer lines of the mural to create depth and give definition to the pieces. Writing formed around the mural in a language that he couldn’t read or understand,  _ that’s unexpected, perhaps it’s older than any language I have ever seen. _

It seemed to Pull at him, pulling him towards the mural, it was insistent in his mind. He put his hand against the mural burning bronze and Compounding with tin his bronze sense.

_ Accept it. _

_ Know it. _

_ CHANGE. _

“Yes.” He whispered, his heart seemed to stop.

Something slammed into his mind. It streamed from the mural through his eyes, searing his skull. It gripped him, held to him, joined with him. Light consumed Nazan entirely. A moment later he was on the ground panting. The power seemed to consume him, he could feel it infusing every bit of Light he had breathed in and every Breath and the Allomantic and Feruchemical power.  _ Change. _

He waited for a moment before he breathed in all of his Stormlight and his vision slipped into Shadesmar, he mentally reached towards the Bifrost and PULLED. The Surge of Transportation dropped him right on deck and he felt strange. Around him the colours seemed to split around him.

The crew were already equipped with Aonic Blades and Lashing Fabrials as hulking Hordlings the size of small buildings with a swarm of smaller Hordlings flew towards the Bifrost. The first of the massive Hordlings that came close and got hit by the cannon and a massive hole appeared in it’s chest. It collapsed in moments and El shouted in excitement from the back of the cannon. The crew Lashed into the air after the Hordlings with their Blades out in front of them ready to attack them.    
Part of the crew stayed on deck split across all sides of the ship slashing at any Hordlings that tried to come onto the deck. Eventually a small swarm of Hordlings managed to come on deck and formed into the shape of a Makabaki man with white tattoos, Nikli.

“Well hello, Nikli. How are you feeling?” Nazan said flippantly.

Nikli looked furious as he responded hissing, “Return the Dawnshard Elsecaller or everyone here will be killed.”

“Everything you just said was wrong. I won’t return the Dawnshard and you will fail to kill even a single member of my crew so let’s have an actual negotiation.”   
“There can’t be a negotiation.”   
“Well I think there can be so here are my terms; your people stand down, you allow the Oathgate to be opened and for trade to flow into the island while you pretend to guard the Dawnshard. You will send a Sleepless or two to act as your representatives in Yggdrasil which will be publicly you guarding someone who impressed you while secretly it’s you making sure my organisation is defending your interests in the cosmere but really you will be defending the Command that is currently infusing my entire being.” Nazan summoned the Akilahblade as a dagger before continuing to speak, “Yes, you don’t like this but you know my organisation favours Preservation over Ruin and if I could get the Dawnshard so easily then very soon other people will be able to acquire the Dawnshard so it would be better to leave it with me over waiting till you have no negotiating power.”

“I… I will have to discuss with the others.”   
The swarm collapsed to the ground and started chittering and twitching. Minutes later the swarm reconstituted itself into the form of Nikli.

“We accept the deal.” He said tiredly, “With two caveats, you must transfer the Dawnshard from yourself into a different uninvested member of Yggdrasil and Yggdrasil must not tell anyone about this and the Dawnshard must never tell their identity to anyone including those within Yggdrasil.”   
“No one in Yggdrasil is fully uninvested but I have someone in mind that never uses any Invested art except for their slowed aging and their squireship. I can remove that Connection so all they would have is their slowed aging and the Dawnshard would be contained within someone who couldn’t use it.”   
Nikli froze for a moment before speaking, “That is acceptable.”

“Then call off the attack now.”   
Nikli nodded and the Hordlings stopped attacking the Bifrost’s crew and the two Radiants Huio and Lopen. That evening a conversation happened in Nazan’s office and a Command was transferred to a new vessel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long but I have been very busy over the last week and a bit so I didn't have much time to write this chapter in. Also this was a difficult chapter to make work as I had to figure out how to make the Sleepless stop being hostile without Rysn's awesome negotiating skills.


	23. Hearthstone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, at best I will only be releasing one chapter a week for the time being as school is taking up most of my time.  
> We're now in official Rhythm of War time, there should only be three or four chapters after this before we enter the proper endgame for this work.

Nazan stood on the Fourth Bridge with El, Saoene and Ilan beside him. His Plate was formed around him with his Akilahblade and Enlightenedblade in his right and left hands respectively. The Fourth Bridge was landing in the middle of Hearthstone and he was ready for the fight that was coming.

“I think she will be here.”   
Saoene nodded, “Yeah, she probably will be this is too major a battle for her to be held back from.”

He could feel himself grin savagely, “Fantastic, a real fight with someone I don’t have to feel bad about killing.”   
El looked quizzically at him, “What do you mean? What about the Fused?”   
“The Fused come back but that requires a sacrifice of a normal Singer and it hurts their minds each time. She on the other hand is a complete traitor and deserves to suffer an awful fate.”

Three full flights of Shanay-im flew towards Hearthstone and the Fourth Bridge. The Windrunners flew into the air ready to fight and he waited for the call he was expecting.

He could see Kaladin chasing Leshwi and dozens of other fights between Windrunners and Shanay-im. He Lashed himself so he was hovering five feet above the ground and watched the horizon while burning tin. A figure appeared on the horizon in Shanay-im robes but… she was human.

_ Aesudan. Time to fight. _

Nazan Lashed three times directly towards the figure that was hurtling towards the Fourth Bridge. As he got closer to Aesudan he could see she was holding a huge silvery warhammer glowing intensely with violet light and amethysts coming from many parts of her body. Her chest was covered in the amethysts filled to the brim with Voidlight.

When they got close to each other they both in an instant stopped flying towards each other. They both held their weapons in combat stance and stared at each other. She looked both angry and excited to the point she was shaking.  _ Voidlight flares emotions and she’s currently infused with more than any Fused. _

She lunged and slammed downwards with her warhammer with inhuman speed and grace. He sliced at the warhammer with his Enlightenedblade and the Blade… was knocked right out of his hand.

_ Damnation aluminium! I will have to handle this without relying on the enhanced sharpness from my Shardblades. _

He Lashed backwards from the warhammer’s path, tapped pewter to become twice as strong as normal and then flared pewter. Aesudan swung upwards towards him as she flew closer, he dodged to the side and gripped the Akilahblade in both hands. Nazan slashed at Aesudan and the Blade bounced off of the gem covered chest. The gems cracked on her chest,  _ those gems are too highly Invested for the sharpness. _

She moved the warhammer into one hand then put her hand outwards fire flowing from her fingertips. He sealed the Plate’s eye slits and all other exposed gaps. He Compounded tin to enhance his hearing and bronze sense, letting him feel the pulses to see the world around him like echolocation.

She swung the warhammer again, flames bursting from it and he Lashed himself so he fell directly backwards towards the Fourth Bridge. She chased after Nazan and as they got close to the Fourth Bridge he canceled the Lashings and Lashed upwards. Aesudan chased after him upwards and started Compounding weight, multiplying his weight by two then four then eight then sixteen then thirty-two then sixty-four. As they got higher into the air he dropped a metal spike below him, cancelled the Lashing and flared steel pushing on the small metal spike with the full force of his current weight.

Aesudan screamed in pain as the spike ripped through her body, he dropped towards her and cut through the hand gripping the warhammer. The warhammer fell towards the ground and Aesudan Lashed herself away from his next slash. The hand regrew Voidlight steaming off her and dropped beside the warhammer. She grabbed the warhammer off the ground and growled in hatred.

She flew upwards towards him as Nazan dove downwards at her. The Enlightenedblade reappeared back in his left hand and when they were just about to collide he swung his Akilahblade. She dodged upwards as he had expected and he swung the Enlightenedblade in her path but she dodged out of the way of the Blade as if she knew that the attack was coming.

_ What! That’s impossible! Damn it. _

He Lashed directly over to Saoene who was firing Aonic blasts at any Fused that came close to the Fourth Bridge.

“Saoene, Aesudan can see the future.”   
“How do you know?” She asked worriedly.   
“She moved like an Atium user.”   
“Damnation! Kill her quickly then and burn electrum.” She instructed.

“Obviously sis.” He jumped back into the air burning electrum.

Aesudan looked confused as she came close and Nazan Soulcast the air behind and above her from range into stone. He then dashed closer and slashed with both Blades, she blocked them using the aluminium warhammer and flames rushed outwards and the stone into smoke. Aesudan fled upwards into the air with inhuman grace and he chased after her.

His vision exploded with light and his head started ringing from a blast of sound.   
“ARGHHH!” He roared and tried to shake his head to clear it.

He heard two cracking sounds and felt his bones shattering. He Compounded gold to try and heal from the huge amount of damage and his mind refocused. He tapped nicrosil to reinfuse himself with Stormlight regenerating his Plate around his body. 

He stopped tapping and burning tin relaxing his mind. He could see Aesudan about to slam him with another strike from her warhammer and the air around her transformed into amber.

El was in the air from the Lashing fabrial Stormlight coming off her body, she threw a duralumin and nicrosil coin towards him which he snatched out of the air.  _ She wasn’t meant to do things like that but… she stopped me from getting injured even more. _

Aesudan crashed to the ground and a red light burst from the amber fleeing fast away until it was a hundred meters away from him then it expanded and a woman formed in the light clothes growing out of the air around her.  _ Okay that’s just cheating. Wait, can I do that? I’ll check later. _

She sniffed dismissively and flew directly away from Hearthstone,  _ I’ll let her run today, she won’t be able to run for very long and on that day she won’t survive me. _

He returned to the Fourth Bridge, El shouting in excitement, “HAH! Did you see that? She ran away scared from us and also did you see that I Soulcast the air right around her Voidlight infused body. Then she escaped using some strange variant of the Surge of Transportation. Do you think you can do that?”   
She stopped to take a breath and Nazan interrupted, “I think I might be able to do that, though it would definitely take a hack of some sort to do it. Anyway, get ready we’re joining the team of Windrunners escorting Brightness Navani back to the Shattered Plains.”   
She nodded, “Okay boss, just need to grab a couple of things.”   
About seven or eight hours later they were landing in the Shattered Plains and Nazan stretched his arms above his head.  _ Ahhh things are moving towards the end of all of my plans, I’ll be able to relax just get Dark and Asira and their teams ready for the invasion and things will be nice and dandy. Nothing really to worry about. _

“Nazan can you come here please?” Navani’s voice came from the vehicle he had just finished escorting.

_ Well that’s a bad sign. _ He walked over to the vehicle and saw Navani holding a spanreed.  _ That’s not right, the Sibling couldn’t have done that they’re practically a deadeyes. _

“I got a message over this spanreed but a large part of it is in a language I’ve never seen before.”

“Show me please Navani.” He requested locating his language copperminds.

She handed him a piece of paper and pointed at a chunk of text at the end of the document. He looked at the chunk and his heart started thumping in his chest, his breath becoming ragged and he felt hot.

_ That’s impossible!  _

“Nazan?” Navani’s voice seemed distant to him.

His metals flared in his stomach and he stepped backwards. He tore the page in half and threw it onto the ground and stamped on the torn up paper.

“What are you doing?” Navani asked loudly.

He then Soulcast the paper into fire before Soulcasting the air around it into water putting out the spontaneous fire. He took a few deep breaths stopping his burns of his metals.

“Sorry I panicked.” He said softly staring at the wet ground.

“What made you so panicked?” Navani asked softly.

“Doesn’t matter.” He said shaking his head, “I will have to prepare Yggdrasil for a new war.”

“What war? What are you talking about?”   
“Don’t worry it’s not relevant to you for the time being or perhaps ever. Goodbye, my team and I will be returning to Urithiru as soon as possible.”   
He rushed over to his team who were talking and taking quick glances towards him and Navani.

“We’re going to Urithiru now.” Nazan ordered coldly.

They went quiet clearly nervous at how cold he was. He breathed in Stormlight and pulled towards the Yggdrasil section of the Urithiru. 

_ There are three possibilities and all three are nightmarish for how someone sent a message with some English text. I need to get ready for whatever possibility is correct. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that end reveal, what are those three possibilities that Nazan mentioned? The first is that somehow a Shard has managed to access some of his knowledge, the second is that he has influenced the development of a new spren with some of his knowledge and the third is the worst one for him in it's potential. What is that? Well, he's thinking that it could be another reincarnated individual with similar levels of knowledge to him. Why is that so bad to Nazan? Simple he doesn't know the morality of whoever it is that reincarnated and also... the competition isn't something he wants to deal with.  
> If you have any questions about what happened in this chapter just post a comment.


	24. The Approach of the Final Conflict

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah about that one chapter a week thing... sorry. Honestly this chapter was being difficult and also right now I'm finding it difficult to maintain my motivation to write but don't worry I will continue writing until everything in this series is finished.  
> As an apology I will catch you up on how certain characters trajectories have been affected.  
> Shallan: She is a lot more mentally stable because Nazan has been acting as a kind of therapist and confidant with all of the Ghostblood and murdering her parents stuff. Shallan is also more Cosmere aware than she is even at the end of Rhythm of War with decent knowledge on the main planets of the Cosmere.  
> Kaladin: Is basically in the same place as in canon except he is going to have a proper holiday (kind of) as there isn't going to be an occupation of Urithiru. Which might slow down him speaking the Fourth Ideal but he won't have the same need.  
> Navani: Well starts this version of Rhythm of War in a very similar place but is going to have a different story as she won't get to partner up with Raboniel for scholarship or bond the Sibling because well Raboniel won't occupy the tower and the Sibling is pretty much dead.  
> Jasnah: Is slightly more Cosmere aware but the real major change is that she's in a relationship with Nazan rather than Wit and is now friends with a bunch of Cosmere scholars as well.  
> Renarin: Similar place, except he is a bit more confident in his abilities because of Sja-anat being on the good guy team from early on.  
> Taravangian: Ehhh, well you can guess what sort of changes are going on at the moment.

Nazan hurried around his office in Urithiru grabbing at large metalminds fastening them onto himself until he practically had a suit of armour beneath the Shardplate made of all sixteen of the basic allomantic metals. Saoene stepped in front of him as he went to his safe, looking worried.

“What’s wrong Nazan? What was in that message that has rattled you so much?” She asked putting her hand on his shoulder

“Saoene, whoever was speaking to Navani used a language that was erased from the cosmere in such a way that there should only be one being in the entire cosmere that can even understand a word from that language. And that person is me. If someone else knows that language then there is almost a hundred percent guarantee that they know other things that put the whole cosmere in danger so I must act quickly to avoid such an outcome.”

“Stop being vague brother and explain better.” She instructed as he pushed to the safe forcing the Enlightenedblade into the lock.

“Whoever this person is they have near perfect access to Fortune reaching towards an unknown point in the future just like me but I’ve planned for such things.” 

He grabbed a vial of atium beads and walked over to the heatrial increasing the heat from it while storing into the brassmind. He Soulcast a copper can and emptied the vial into it and clamped it above the heatrial. Saoene shook her head and left the office.

“ _ Sja-anat, come here I need to give you a new form of Light to infuse Urithiru with. _ ”   
“ _ What is this Light, Nazan? _ ”   
“ _ Ruin’s Light, I suggest not absorbing it. In past tests a similar effect to Nightblood’s attacks on lesser spren so it likely wouldn’t be very healthy for you to absorb it. _ ”   
Sja-anat slid through a gemstone vein in the wall, dark smoke accented with silver light until she reformed into her normal form; a nine foot tall woman with a cloak of silver Light and her features were currently that of Jasnah’s. The atium had started to melt into a black liquid with black smoke curling from the surface,  _ perfect _ .

He felt a new pulse coming from the liquid, a tone, the tone of Ruin. He started humming to the Rhythm and Sja-anat started to hum with him as Light started coming from her starting off as N-Light and shifting till it was the black of Ruin’s Light. The Light formed into a small ball floating in the air and Sja-anat pulsed in his mind with satisfaction.

“Don’t infuse Urithiru yet, wait till my signal. I have a strategy, we need to be ready.”   
He shut down the heatrial, in minutes the atium resolidified and he put it back into the safe. He retrieved a bag full of fabrials from the safe and locked it once again. 

The days passed quickly with him setting up traps for if the unknown individual came to the tower. The time came for Shallan and Adolin to go to Shadesmar.

“Shallan, that cube that Mraize gave you, you can use it to contact me.” He said quietly.

Her eyes grew wide but her hair darkened as Veil took over, “How do you know about the cube?”   
“Veil. Do you think you are the only person with eyes and ears everywhere? Anyway, just say my name to the cube in the evening and I will be able to talk to you.”   
“You’ve been spying on Shallan?” Veil asked.

“Not everything is about you, I have been watching Mraize. He is very dangerous but his master makes him look like an ant, Thaidakar is from the same land that I am from.” He warned.

“Really? What is he able to do?”   
“He shares a couple Invested Arts with me but he has a few unique traits that have a similarity to a rare problem like that of the Fused and the Heralds. You won’t have to deal directly with him anytime soon.”   
“Are you sure?” Radiant asked.

“Yes Radiant, he currently can’t leave my homeland just like Stormlight can’t leave Roshar. Worry more about Mraize for the time being, he would stab you in the back without a second thought. Harmony preserve you on the journey ahead.” He bowed his head slightly before turning and walking away.

Soon after Jasnah got ready to leave for the Emul conflict but before she left they took some time to speak in private.

“Nazan, from what little you are willing to tell me about that mysterious individual who contacted my mother, this person is dangerous even to you. Please be careful especially with that other plan you mentioned.”   
“I’ll be careful Jasnah. Please you be careful too not just from the Fused but also Taravangian and other treacherous people. Do what you need to do to survive for me please.” He said softly.   
“I will Nazan don’t worry about me.”   
They kissed goodbye and Jasnah left for the next stage in the war in Emul. Hours later he had checked the tunnel underneath Urithiru that would soon be used by Raboniel’s invasion force. 

Very long ropes hung on the tunnel ceiling with thin razor blades embedded inside them, they were all completely grey. Dark and his team of Awakeners were organising Lifeless statues in a room that Yggdrasil had Soulcast as a final line of defence to stop Raboniel from trying to unmake the Sibling and preparing Awakened traps. Asira had her soldiers patrolling the tunnel, about thirty Pewterarms, twelve Brutes, three Steelrunners and three Leechers in three groups; one group near the end of the tunnel one at the top in the entry chamber and the other resting in other Soulcast rooms with rotating shifts. Sixty hazekillers were ready to be called in equipped in an aluminium alloy -that kept the Investiture blocking trait of normal aluminium but was strong enough for combat- armour and weapons each of them had been trained against allomancers, feruchemists and surgebinders -though there were less of those to work with.

“Hey, boss are you okay?” Asira asked.

“Yeah just checking up how this operation is going and-” He froze to Sja-anat speaking into his mind suddenly.

“ _ Navani has found a new spanreed from that mysterious speaker. _ ”   
“Understood Sja, I’ll get up there now. Asira, look after this lot, I’ve got work to do.”   
She nodded and he walked into the gemstone pillar room that Navani was using as a laboratory.

Navani and her scholars were attaching the spanreed to a scale. A whole group of them were surrounding the spanreed and they looked towards him.

“Hello Nazan, I was going to get you, another spanreed was hidden in my things. Don’t break this one, please.” 

“Don’t worry Navani, we need to find out everything we can about this mysterious individual. So are we starting now?”

Navani turned the ruby of the spanreed indicating that she was ready to talk. Nazan could feel his breath catch as they waited.

The pen started writing in Ancient Terris, ‘Why have you ignored my prior instructions, Mother of Machines?’

“What language is this? Do you know Nazan?” Navani asked after the pen stopped writing.

“It’s… Ancient Terris, the language of my ancestors, I’ll read it all out loud in Alethi for you, this is asking why you haven’t done what they ordered you to do so.”

“Where’s Terris?” One of the scholar’s asked.

“Very far away, I was born in Terris, you can only get there from here through Shadesmar.”   
“There are lands of humans only in Shadesmar?” Rushu asked.

“Irrelevant at the moment, Navani time for you to respond.” Nazan deflected.

She wrote a response in Alethi, ‘I’m not sure what exactly you expected of me, please, explain further.’

The pen started moving again, the language had changed from Ancient Terris to modern Terris, a completely different language with its own unique alphabet, ‘You must stop your experiments with fabrials, I made it perfectly clear that you must stop but you have not. You have only increased your Ruin further.’

“That’s strange.” Nazan muttered.

“What is it Nazan?” Navani asked confused.   
“They used the word ‘Ruin’ as a description of your actions. It’s an extreme description given the language being used.”   
“Why, what makes it extreme?” Navani pressed.

“Ruin in Terris culture is the equivalent of Odium in the position as the antagonistic force of our people. Clearly, that is a bit over the top for what artifabrians actually do. This person is insulting you to the strongest degree possible especially given the language.”   
“Brightness, the decay is significant, they must be thousands of miles from us. They should be somewhere in Alethkar probably.”   
“So this person is a Singer?” Navani asked confused.

“No. That is impossible, no Singer could know these languages except maybe a Fused for Ancient Terris but even then this person writes like a native of my homeland not like a native of Roshar.”   
Navani wrote a response, ‘Why do you believe fabrials are so wrong?’

The language was once again different this time shifting to English, ‘How can you not hear their screams, they weep and shriek from the agony of the cage you imprison them within. You wither and enslave them, you humans are monstrous creatures but you are an abomination of the highest degree.’

“Ash’s mask…” Kalami said. “It’s a spren, isn’t it?”

“Depends on what you mean by spren.” Nazan said, staring at the page.

“What do you mean Nazan?” Navani asked.

“Well if you describe a spren as being an entity formed from the powers of creation that has gained sentience through the influence of thinking creatures then technically this one fits that description but… I don’t think they come from the powers of this world. Navani, see if you can get them to say their name please.”

“First explain what you think this person is.” Navani ordered with a stern glare.

“Fine, this being has knowledge of languages not of this world so clearly it was influenced by the mind of someone or people not from this world. Secondly this language that they just used is only known by one being from this Physical Realm and you’re looking at him therefore this being was probably influenced by me,” He shook his head, “Thirdly, this is a true spren like those that Radiant’s bond with but displays a unique attitude towards the capturing of spren in gemstones so likely formed from a different form of Investiture than the spren of Honor, Cultivation or Odium. Now can you get more vital information from this spren? Please?”

She nodded slightly, ‘Who are you?’

The language started combining Ancient Terris with English, ‘I am a Splinter of the power of creation, I am Oryx, the Taken King.’

As Nazan read it out loud he laughed as he read the name the Splinter was calling itself.  _ Is he joking? I guess he really is only a year or so old. _

“What’s so funny?” Navani asked.

“You wouldn’t get the joke but that name is just him being a showoff as he clearly isn't… Oh rusts and Ruin… I get it now.” Nazan grabbed the spanreed off the desk and stared at the ruby.

_ Yeah, I’m right, that’s a very bad sign. Though at least he’s just an annoying spren. _

The scholars were looking at him confused and he showed the gemstone to them.

“Look at the spren inside that gem, it’s not a normal flamespren, it’s been corrupted or as he would call it Taken. Time to break that gemstone, I think it’s being used to eavesdrop on us so Oryx if you can hear me come to Urithiru stop this game of telephone.”   
Nazan summoned Akilah as a hammer and slammed it straight into the gemstone which exploded with silver Light which he breathed in immediately.

_ Not risking more egotistical Spren. I understand what the plan is.  _

“Well, if you get contacted again Navani. Summon me please, I have work to do.”

A couple weeks later Nazan felt a strange pulse coming from somewhere in Urithiru. It was like the Rhythm that came from N-Light but different as if someone else's Identity had altered the Intent of the Light.

_ Well, it seems like it’s time for this battle. _

Nazan walked downstairs from the Yggdrasil section of Urithiru towards the heart of Urithiru, the gemstone pillar. As he arrived Navani waved a new spanreed at him.

“Another one appeared in my bag, we found it a couple of minutes ago.” Navani said.

“That’s good but also  _ initiate Mousetrap protocol Sja-anat. _ ”

Seconds after he sent the instruction telepathically to the Taker of Secrets, he could feel the ground shaking beneath his feet and black Light flowed through the gemstone veins around the room towards the gemstone pillar. A scream the likes of which he had never heard before, and a creature burst from the blackening pillar. The creature looked like a man with stretched limbs and skin stretched thin over it’s bones, smoke coming off his skin and silver Light came off his body slightly.

He looked at Nazan growling with fury, “I will Take you all!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah Oryx is a reference to Destiny, sue me it's accurate to what sort of thing he does and it is a reminder that Oryx has access to a part of Nazan's memory. Oryx at the end looks like a Wendigo made of silver light in my head.  
> At this point I think there should only be two more chapters but I can't be certain as I hoped to get further in this chapter.


	25. The Final Conflict

_ Shit, wasn’t expecting him to look like that. He looks kind of familiar… his skin and body is stretched.  _ Time seemed sluggish to him thanks to his zincminds. He kept scanning Oryx up and down repeatedly.

_ Ohhh shit, I recognise him, he looks like me but not like I am in this life. The me from my old life. I can’t afford to fail in this skirmish. _

Nazan smiled charmingly his hands held outwards, “Well before you try that and we have to fight let’s do this properly.”   
Oryx growled the black smoke still coming off burns on his silver skin, “What do you mean?”   
“Introductions, tell me your name and all of your titles and accomplishments then I will do the same. If we are to fight, we should do it respectfully.”   
Oryx nodded subtly and stood upright for once. “Yes, I am Oryx, the Taken King, Lord of Corruption, Spren of Terra and Splinter of Yggdrasil. I will Take all Investiture and become God of all that I survey.”   
Nazan nodded calmly as Oryx relaxed into his naturally hunched over posture, “I am Nazan, primordial Mistborn and a Awakener of the Fifth Heightening. I am the last Keeper of Terris and lord of Yggdrasil. I have bonded Akilah of the Inkspren and Sja-anat, the Taker of Secrets. I am an Elsecaller of the Fourth Ideal and a Choicebringer of the Third Ideal. I watched as the world of my birth died and was born again anew. I am the wielder of Jezrien, Herald of King’s Honorblade. I have fought Unmade and made them flee in my wake. I crafted Nightmare a sentient Awakened sword in the midst of a Highstorm. I formed Yggdrasil from the scraps of the isolated worlds and transformed them all into heroes and great people of all stripes. I have watched as gods died and I have seen things that would make Odium run in fear of my wrath. I am the memory of the progression of humanity, I know things that would make parasite gods crumble to dust.” He waved his hand and a cloak made of variously coloured tassels fell from the collar of his Plate. Each colour shining brightly in his Breath aura his eyes glowing silver, “So I as a Choicebringer must give you this opportunity to change your path, stop this foolishness or I will eradicate you from all three Realms.”   
In his right hand mist formed into a rapier, “ _ I’m ready Nazan. _ ” Akilah spoke into his mind. 

In his left hand miniature red storm clouds appeared and formed into a dagger that seemed to fuzz with static. He started his Compounding of zinc, steel, gold and nicrosil. He flared pewter and let the N-Light to infuse every single cell of his body.

“I reject your offer, I will defeat you because I know how you think unlike you.” Oryx said his voice scratchy like nails on a chalkboard.

Oryx stretched his hands out and the nails on his insubstantial body solidified into metal which extended several inches out, several portions of his body became metal along with his nails.

“Fine if this is the role you’re determined to play then I must play mine, the man who stops you.”   
Oryx pounced straight at Nazan his claws flashing as they slashed straight into the Plate cracking a section. Nazan stabbed outwards with the Akilahblade but it striked off a portion of metal. Nazan kicked with all his strength right into Oryx and Oryx flew into the gemstone pillar. Oryx screamed in agony as the black Light burned him, the metal plate melting back into silver Light.

Oryx peeled himself off the pillar and Nazan slammed Oryx with the speed of a car knocking him into the back wall of the room. Oryx as he flew towards the wall turned himself midair and landed on the wall like it was a floor. Nazan dashed upto Oryx who launched himself past Nazan swords and into his reach. He grabbed hold of Nazan’s neck and sliced through it with his claws.

A flash of pain rushed through Nazan’s body as his eyes started burning and reknitting as fast as it could be destroyed. Oryx kept rending with his claws shattering the Plate and cutting Nazan open.

_ RUSTS! _ _   
_ _ RUIN! _ _   
_ _ AGONY! _

_ ONE! _ _   
_ _ SHOT! _

His mind started going dark but there was still a little bit of Light in his cells. Oryx roared as the air around Nazan lit up with lightning, Oryx flew backwards into a gemstone vein filled with the black Light and he smoked.

Nazan stumbled back to his feet as he breathed in shreds of N-Light that had been shedded off Oryx, his skin and bones and muscles repairing and popping back into place. He quickly Soulcast nicrosil from a piece of cloth and started Compounding N-Light back into himself regenerating his body and the logicspren started forming back into Plate.

Oryx pulled himself off the ground smoke coming off his entire body, parts of his body solidifying as metal. Nazan summoned his Blades into his hands and walked slowly towards Oryx, painspren latching onto his body.

Oryx twitched his head to the side, and dropped himself onto all fours his head bowing.  _ Surrendering, strange that doesn’t make sense. Did I really do that much damage to him? _

He reached for a dagger in an aluminium sheath on his belt dropping his Enlightenedblade and Oryx jumped into Nazan’s left side. A sound burst from the painspren like a scream of agony as Oryx grabbed hold of Nazan’s head and threw him into the ceiling!   
Nazan could hear his skull crack against the ceiling, his N-Light immediately healing it in seconds, he dropped to the ground on his feet. He could see the painspren coated in red light and they were falling apart, their fingers crumbling and Oryx stretching as silver Light grew over his damaged body. Oryx smiled in glory,  _ I was right, he’s too much like me, he would never surrender until he has been broken. _

He tapped all of his steel and zinc and pulled out the dagger, dashing close to Oryx and stabbing the dagger right into Oryx’s shoulder. The speed dropped back to normal and Oryx started burning as a strange Light rushed through the dagger into Oryx.

Oryx screamed as half of his body burned away, the gemstone cracked and Oryx dropped to the ground the remainder of his body curling up.  _ Not enough Anti-Light for him to die but I don’t need him dead just crippled by my feet, I can kill him other ways. _

“ _ Sja-anat time for Oryx to be returned to the void from whence he came. _ ”

He could feel a pulse of agreement from Sja-anat as she slid closer from her perch. He dropped the dagger and summoned the Enlightenedblade back into his hand and prepared to stab downwards into Oryx.

“Stop!” Navani shouted. “I want to speak to him.”

“I’ll give you exactly five minutes and not a second more.” He said planting his foot on top of the remaining leg of Oryx.

Navani stepped within a couple meters of Oryx and lowered herself down to his level.

“What did you just do to those painspren?”   
Oryx spoke shakily, his voice scratchy, “I Took them, corrupting their Light and using it to feed myself. I can heal myself with my Light but I need a source for it.”

“You know how to create Fabrials, the ancient way, don’t you?” Navani asked.

“Why should I tell you, I am going to die in under five minutes either way and unlike your kind when I die, I’m gone forever no Beyond for me.”

“I could make these last four minutes of your life a waking nightmare.” Nazan growled.

“No Nazan, how about you tell me how to make new useful Fabrials and we’ll let you go?”   
“Maybe, I’ve got a better idea, I’ll tell you the secrets of Fabrial creation and you form a Nahel Bond with me. I will not hide in the shadows anymore, I need someone to be able to walk in the light and you are a queen with no Spren. I won’t share and I will not stoop to bond with anyone lesser than you.”   
“You want to form a Radiant Bond with me?” Navani asked, surprised.   
“Of course, you are the only one worthy of my Bond.” Oryx said, pride coating his voice.

_ I see. Clever, a bond would protect him from forever, if I attacked him, Navani would get in the way and I cannot attack her. Fine then, first. _   
“Oryx, if you tell her any of the secrets you inherited from me I will Ruin you. Do you understand?”

“You tell Jasnah these secrets, why not Navani?” Oryx asked mockingly.

“She’s not Jasnah, now do you understand?”   
“Yes.” He said looking downwards again.

“Good, then Navani I have no problems with this deal.”   
“Which order of Radiant would I be?”   
“Something new, the Surges of Adhesion and Transformation, probably.”   
Nazan took his foot from Oryx’s leg and walked away as Navani agreed to the Bond and slipped out of the room into the antechamber.

“ _ Sja-anat, when Navani swears the First Ideal shut down the Mousetrap protocol. I have one last job to do in Urithiru. _ ”   
Nazan flared bronze and Compounded tin for bronze sense, instantly he could feel multiple pulses coming from far down the tunnel beating to the pure tone of Odium.  _ Surgebinding with the Light of Odium. They come. _

The Yggdrasil forces were split between looking towards the door into the gemstone pillar room and looking through the door into the tunnel.

“They’re coming now.” He said, “Get ready.”   
He grabbed three daggers from a weapon’s rack each had a gemstone embedded into the hilt filled with a Light that glowed faintly violet-black and appeared to faintly warp the air around itself. He Soulcast the mistcloak into air and summoned Akilah as a shortsword in one hand leaving his offhand free for the fight ahead.

Moments later he heard shouting and fighting coming from down the corridor thanks to his tin enhanced ears, he nodded towards the fifteen or so Yggdrasil warriors in the room. 

Asira shouted into the bunkroom in Northern Scadrian, “GET UP! TIME TO DO YOUR JOBS!”

Nazan could see the stone soldiers moving with strange speed to circle the door with a member of Yggdrasil in between each one, the door into the bunkroom opened letting the rest of the forces to fill in.

“No, there are too many people in here, get into the pillar room and wait for if you are needed.” Nazan delivered orders with a wave of his hand.

Asira’s arms started moving in circular motions speeding up, Nazan could feel dozens of pulses coming off the Yggdrasill fighters. He could hear people rushing up the tunnel, one of them shouted.  _ Good they’re still alive. _

The Fused were getting closer and behind them in large numbers Regals and even more Fused. He steel pushed on the door handle causing it to burst open letting the patrol into the room panting with their weapons out.

He could see a group of the Deepest Ones melding with the stone and moving in and out of the stone tunnel. When they got close to the door, Dark clapped his hands twice and the ropes hanging from the tunnel’s roof started moving like they were alive. Two of the Deepest Ones managed to avoid getting grabbed by the ropes but one was caught and before he could use his Surge to slide through it the rope sliced open his throat on one of the blades and created cuts at veins and arteries all over his body. The other two started to retreat at the sight of the force in front of them so Nazan dashed with Compounded speed and before they could even react he decapitated them with the Akilahblade which he dispelled as he returned to his position in the guard. He put his hand on Nightmare as he breathed in more Stormlight ready to unsheath him when the rest of the force came.

**-Venli-**

The invasion of the tower had started and already they were doing badly. Most of the way up the tunnel was easy but as their invasion force came out of the tunnel they were attacked by a large force of Surgebinders, one of whom was the Elsecaller that had been angering the Fused for the whole year. Stone warriors fought the stormform Regals unaffected by the bursts of lightning.

_ But that secret weapon Raboniel brought with us…  _

The Elsecaller was tearing through every Regal that came close to him like they were paper until a red ribbon of light flew through the fighting and formed into Vyre as she slammed into the Elsecaller who was sent crashing into the ground. The Blade was sent spinning away and not dissipating into mist, Vyre grabbed one of the stone soldiers and snapped off it’s arm turning it into a hammer. She then brought the hammer crashing down on the Elsecaller. In a blur of motion the hammer collided with a Shardblade which cut it in half, Vyre dropped the broken hammer and grabbed a stormform throwing them right into the Elsecaller.

He Soulcast the air into stone stopping the stormform and then back on his feet rushed through it as it turned back into air Blade flashing in the air. 

She got distracted as a human jumped her, knocking her to the ground, a dagger came crashing down and she closed her eyes. The pain didn’t come and she opened her eyes to see Raboniel throwing the man to the side, her eyes seemed to be glowing a little less bright.

“Be more careful Voice, these humans are a strange type. That one dissipated my Voidlight when I grabbed him. Retreat, this invasion is faltering, having you die here would be a waste.” Raboniel spoke to the Rhythm of Command.

She nodded and rushed to leave but a bolt of Light flew past her into the tunnel transforming the air into stone, she turned back to see one of the humans with her hand out pointing their finger before moving her arms in rhythmic motions again.

_ This wasn’t an invasion, it was a trap! _

As she thought that she heard a shout come from the Elsecaller, “NOW SJA-ANAT!”

With the shout came a strange shadow over her mind, blocking the Rhythms of Odium, the Fused dropped to the ground and Vyre froze mid strike as her Voidlight stopped pulsing through the amethysts. The Elsecaller cut through Vyre with his Shardblade and his allies started cutting down the Regals and Fused while they were dazed. Venli breathed in Stormlight which made them stop.

“You’re Radiant.” The Elsecaller said not asking or surprised. “Good, Asira, we need the device.”

The woman who had Soulcast the barrier in the way nodded and walked into a side room and came back in a few seconds with a tripod fabrial.  _ The Radiant suppressing device but that isn’t Voidlight powering it and amethysts instead of rubies. _

She felt the darkness choke her even more and her vision darkened, she could feel her knees collapse beneath her as the darkness overtook her vision.

**-Nazan-**

He dropped the Blade from his hand and took out a dagger walking over to Raboniel’s unconscious body. 

He knelt down beside her, he whispered, “Sorry, I wish this didn’t have to happen but you will just be a liability if you survive any longer.”   
He plunged the dagger into Raboniel’s gemheart, the Fused began to spasm and shake. Nazan could smell burning flesh and the skin blistered around the wound. Her eye’s opened not seeing but turning milky white and she went limp as smoke escaped her lips.

He stood up and turned towards the members of Yggdrasill around him, “Time for our vanishing act, the final conflict has begun.  _ Sja-anat, awaken all of the tower’s fabrials. _ ”   
He breathed in Stormlight and felt at the Surge of Transportation and tapped his duraluminmind to enhance his Connection to Jasnah. He Surged and in a moment he was beside Jasnah in Emul.

She jumped slightly before quickly relaxing when she realised that it was him.

“So is it time, Nazan?” She asked.

“Has Taravangian betrayed us yet explicitly?”   
“Yes just now that’s where I was going.”   
“Then, I have to come with you. If this goes wrong… love you Jasnah.”   
“Don’t let it go wrong Nazan and I love you too.”   
They rushed to the battlefield and split up, Nazan Lashed upwards towards the floating platform Dalinar was standing on.

“Nazan? You stayed in Urithiru. Why are you here?” Dalinar asked.

“I came because I dealt with the attempted invasion of the tower. When this is dealt with I expect Odium to come looking for an accord.”

“Really? Why would he come for an accord?”   
“I have finished activating all of the tower’s fabrials and I have proven that the Fused can die, permanently. He’s losing the war and he knows it so he’ll have to make a deal in which he can win something, anything.”   
Dalinar nodded and watched over the battlefield ready to open the perpendicularity when the Windrunners needed Stormlight.

Saoene flew upwards on a Lashing and landed beside them.

“Hey bro! You dealt with the thing back in Urithiru?”   
“Yeah Sao, I came for the final conflict. The next week should be the end of the war so I have one last job for you to do.”   
“Really? What job?” Saoene asked frowning.

“Kill Ishar and steal anything interesting that he has.”   
“Wait you want her to murder a Herald?” Dalinar asked his expression darkening.

“It’s not murder, it’s justice. There is evidence of him doing… things to spren. He needs to go as soon as possible for the safety of all peoples, human, singer and spren alike. Saoene do you accept this job?”   
“You are having her stain her hands with assassination?”   
“DALINAR! Stop acting like you know what you are talking about. I’ve done far worse to much less deserving people. Nazan of course, I’ll see you when I see you.”   
She jumped off the platform sketching an Aonic equation in front of her and in a flash she vanished. The battle passed quickly and the platform was dropped to the ground.

As Dalinar took his next step he froze and looked around himself in confusion.  _ So, the end has come it seems, I need to hurry. _ Nazan tapped steel and in a blur grabbed Nightblood’s hilt on Szeth’s belt and pulled it out in a second. He could feel it draining the Light that infused his body but he focused on tapping duralumin as he touched his offhand to Dalinar’s forehead and in a moment he could feel himself dropping into the vision world behind Odium himself as he said something to Dalinar.

Odium started to turn as Nightblood yelled in his mind, “DESTROY EVIL!”   
Nazan rammed it up into Odium’s chest and Nightblood fed off Odium’s Investiture, Odium screamed and the vision world shattered, turning to darkness! Nazan kept Compounding the duralumin in his stomach, he could feel Nightblood becoming lethargic and heavy in his hands as Rayse turned into a dark smoke and was consumed by the Blade. He dropped the sword as he felt the power around him pulling at him, the Connection that he had forged by Compounding so much duralumin letting him feel the power begging for a proper Vessel.

He pushed his hands into the golden Light where the power was concentrated and he Ascended to godhood as he became Odium!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, next chapter is the very last chapter of this work but don't worry there is going to be a sequel and a prequel coming out. At the moment I think the sequel will come out first but I can't be certain.  
> Anyway this chapter, I had to make sure Navani got something in my Rhythm of War as through the power of the butterfly effect, her entire story and arc in canon got stolen or eliminated; she can't bond the Sibling because the Sibling at this point is just a huge deadeye, she can't discover Anti-Light or Warlight because she doesn't know about the hybrid Lights or about the sphere of Anti-Voidlight that Gavilar had and she can't have any of the interactions with Raboniel that she has in canon.  
> Anything else of note I don't think so... oh wait that whole Ascension thing so I remember that Nazan said that he would never take up a Shard because of the way it alters your mind but he has a plan for mitigating that factor for the most part. Also he did do this with the permission of Yggdrasill as they want a Shard on their side and they all trust Nazan with their lives.  
> Hopefully the next chapter won't take too long to do but no promises.


End file.
